The following is a summary of “Development and Validation of an Algorithm for Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS) at Unusual Sites,” published in the June 2023 issue of Hematology by Hobbi et al.
Thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) is a medical condition resulting in low platelet count and abnormal blood clottings.
For a study, researchers aimed to develop and assess an algorithm for TTS identification at uncommon locations. TTS was reported in individuals who had taken adenoviral vector-based COVID-19 vaccines. The study analyzed the performance of clinical coding to develop an International Classification of Diseases-10-Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM-) based algorithm to detect the unusual sites of TTS based on literature review and clinical input.
The algorithm was verified against the Brighton Collaboration’s interim case definition using laboratory, pathology, and imaging reports in an academic health network electronic health record (EHR) within the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Biologics Effectiveness and Safety (BEST) Initiative.
For 1 thrombosis site, up to 50 cases were analyzed. Imaging and pathology were standard, and positive predictive values (PPV) and 95% CI were calculated.
The 278 unusual sites TTS were predicted through the algorithm, and 117(42%) were used for the verification. More than 60% of the patients in identified and validated algorithm were 56 years or older. The positive predictive value (PPV) for unusual site TTS was 76.1% (95% CI 67.2–83.2%) and at least 80% for all but one individual thrombosis diagnosis code. PPV for thrombocytopenia was 98.3% (95% CI 92.1–99.5%).
This study was the first report that used the validated ICD-10-CM-based algorithm for the unusual site. The validation study suggested that the algorithm was performed at intermediate to high PPV levels and can be used in many observational studies, including several medical products and vaccines.
Source: tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2147/IJGM.S407683?scroll=top&needAccess=true&role=tab
