ArticleEmerging themes in epidemiology2015
Children and youth with 'unspecified injury to the head': implications for traumatic brain injury research and surveillance.
Article in Emerging themes in epidemiology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Patterns and Clinical Predictors of Antiseizure Medication Use in Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury.Research square · 2026Article
- Incidences of Concussion in the United States: A Review of Health Insurance Claims.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Comparison of US TBI-related emergency department visits from two data sources: NEISS-AIP and HCUP-NEDS.Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention · 2025Article
- Article
- The performance of the alarmin HMGB1 in pediatric diseases: From lab to clinic.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2021Review
- Multisite medical record review of emergency department visits for unspecified injury of head following the ICD-10-CM coding transition.Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention · 2021Article
- U.S. Trends of ED Visits for Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injuries: Implications for Clinical Trials.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2017Article
- Medical Coders' Use of the ICD-10-CM "Unspecified" Codes for Head and Brain Injury in Emergency Department Settings.Journal of public health management and practice : JPHMPArticle
- Improving ICD Coding in the Emergency Department: Factors Related to Use of "Unspecified" Codes for Head and Brain Injury.Journal of public health management and practice : JPHMPArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe case definition for traumatic brain injury (TBI) often includes 'unspecified injury to the head' diagnostic codes. However, research has shown that the inclusion of these codes leads to false positives. As such, it is important to determine the degree to which inclusion of these codes affect the overall numbers and profiles of the TBI population. The objective of this paper was to profile and compare the demographic and clinical characteristics, intention and mechanism of injury, and discharge disposition of hospitalized children and youth aged 19 years and under using (1) an inclusive TBI case definition that included 'unspecified injury to the head' diagnostic codes, (2) a restricted TBI case definition that excluded 'unspecified injury to the head 'diagnostic codes, and (3) the 'unspecified injury to the head' only case definition.
methodsThe National Ambulatory Care Reporting System and the Discharge Abstract Database from Ontario, Canada, were used to identify cases between fiscal years 2003/04 and 2009/10.
resultsThe rate of TBI episodes of care using the inclusive case definition for TBI (2,667.2 per 100,000) was 1.65 times higher than that of the restricted case definition (1,613.3 per 100,000). 'Unspecified injury to the head' diagnostic codes made up of 39.5 % of all cases identified with the inclusive case definition. Exclusion of 'unspecified injury to the head' diagnostic code in the TBI case definition resulted in a significantly higher proportion of patients in the intensive care units (p < .0001; 18.5 % vs. 22.2 %) and discharged to a non-home setting (p < .0001; 9.9 % vs. 11.6 %).
conclusionInclusion of 'unspecified injury to the head' diagnostic codes resulted in significant changes in numbers, healthcare use, and causes of TBI. Careful consideration of the inclusion of 'unspecified injury to the head' diagnostic codes in the case definition of TBI for the children and youth population is important, as it has implications for the numbers used for policy, resource allocation, prevention, and planning of healthcare services. This paper can inform future work on reaching consensus on the diagnostic codes for defining TBI in children and youth.
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