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Validity of psoriatic arthritis and capture of disease modifying antirheumatic drugs in the health improvement network
Author(s) -
Ogdie Alexis,
Alehashemi Sara,
Love Thorvardur Jon,
Jiang Yihui,
Haynes Kevin,
Hennessy Sean,
Choi Hyon,
Gelfand Joel M.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.023
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1099-1557
pISSN - 1053-8569
DOI - 10.1002/pds.3677
Subject(s) - medicine , psoriatic arthritis , medical prescription , diagnosis code , antirheumatic drugs , medical record , arthritis , physical therapy , antirheumatic agents , pharmacology , population , environmental health
Purpose The aims of this study are to examine the validity of diagnostic codes for psoriatic arthritis in The Health Improvement Network (THIN) and to examine the agreement between General Practitioner (GP) report and prescription records for disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Methods Questionnaires were sent to the GPs of 100 randomly selected patients with at least one medical record code for psoriatic arthritis. The positive predictive value (PPV) for a GP confirmed diagnosis was calculated, and alternative algorithms were examined to determine which method resulted in the highest PPV. Results The PPV for a single code for psoriatic arthritis was 85% (95%CI: 75.8–91.7%). Adding a prescription for a DMARD increased the PPV to 91% but with a substantial loss in sensitivity. Agreement between GPs and prescription data for use of an oral DMARD was 69%. Conclusions The diagnosis codes for psoriatic arthritis used in THIN are valid. All prescriptions for DMARDs may not be accounted for in THIN. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.