Research: ICD-10 Codes Perform Poorly in Capturing COVID-19-Related Symptoms

Symptom-specific ICD-10 codes lack sensitivity and have poor negative predictive value (NPV) for characteristic COVID-19 symptoms, according to new research published in JAMA Network Open. The codes fared better when they were capturing specificity and positive predictive value (PPV), the data showed.

Researchers compared the performance of International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes for fever, cough, and shortness of breath with the electronic medical records (EMRs) of 2,201 patients tested for COVID-19 infection at University of Utah Health from Mar 10 to Apr 6. ICD-10 codes are often used for data aggregation and analysis, the researchers noted.