An Evaluation of the Biosense 2.0 “Poisoning by Medicines” Syndrome Using Chief-Complaint Data in Utah

Utilization of the BioSense 2.0 system for syndromic surveillance requires validating syndromes for sensitivity and specificity. The objective of this presentation is to evaluate the BioSense 2.0 poisoning by medicines syndrome by determining chief complaint terms for inclusion and exclusion based upon pre-defined ICD-9 codes and a comparison of binned and unbinned chief complaint data. The results of this study suggest that the inclusion of the chief complaint terms "od," "overmedicated," and "ingested" will increase sensitivity, while the exclusion of terms related to alcohol, carbon monoxide, and food poisoning; swallowing a foreign body; and contact dermatitis will increase specificity.