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Displaying results 1 - 8 of 8
  • Syndromic Surveillance in Boston: Validating the Detection of Small Events and Integrating Response from a Local Health Department

    Content Type: Abstract

    The interpretation of aberrations detected by syndromic surveillance is critical for success, but poses challenges for local health departments who must conduct appropriate follow-up and confirm outbreaks. This paper describes the response of the… read more
    … (BPHC) to a cluster of emergency department (ED) visits in children detected by syndromic surveillance. … complaint and demographic data are received for each visit; chief complaints are then grouped into eight syndrome … investigation. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 1/1 1/15 1/29 2/12 2/26 3/12 3/26 4/9 4/23 Date N o. o f v is its (v om iti ng ) …
  • Age Specific Correlations between Influenza Laboratory Data and Influenza-like Syndrome Definitions in Boston and New York City

    Content Type: Abstract

    To compare age-group-specific correlation of influenza-like syndrome (ILS) emergency department (ED) visits with influenza laboratory data in Boston and NYC using locally defined ILS definitions.
    … influenza-like syndrome (ILS) emergency department (ED) visits with influenza laboratory data in Boston and NYC … influenza-like syndrome (ILS) emergency department (ED) visits with influenza laboratory data in Boston and NYC … 0.50 0.75 1.00 <1 1-4 5-24 25-44 45-64 65+ Age Group (y rs) C or re la tio n C oe ff ic ie nt NYC -0.25 0.00 0.25 …
  • Sneezes vs. Wheezes: Syndrome Definitions for Influenza-like Illness

    Content Type: Abstract

    During influenza season, the Boston Public Health Commission uses syndromic surveillance to monitor Emergency Department visits for chief complaints indicative of influenza-like illness (ILI). We created three syndrome definitions for ILI to capture… read more
    … syndromic surveillance to monitor Emergency Department visits for chief complaints indicative of influenza-like … surveillance to monitor Emergency Department (ED) visits for chief complaints indicative of influenza-like … From October 9, 2005 to May 6, 2006 the number of total visits for each ILI syndrome group was recorded daily and …
  • Syndromic Surveillance and Zip Code Data: The Role of Zip Codes in Understanding Populations

    Content Type: Abstract

    Syndromic surveillance systems use residential zip codes for spatial analysis to identify disease clusters. However, the use of emergency medical services can be influenced by geographic proximity, specialty services, and severity of illness. We… read more
    … to better understand how this type of spatial analysis may affect the sensitivity of syndromic surveillance. … Between January 28 and March 7, 2005, there were 47,973 visits to Boston EDs reported to the BPHC syndromic … Massachusetts. The proportion of Boston residents (n=26,560) who sought care at any particular site ranged from …
  • Analysis of Syndrome Definitions for Gastrointestinal Illness with ICD9 Codes for Gastroenteritis during the 2006-07 Norovirus Season in Boston

    Content Type: Abstract

    We report on a retrospective analysis of gastrointestinal syndrome definitions based on chief complaints and ICD9 diagnosis for gastroenteritis during the 2006-07 season of increased norovirus activity.
    … departments (EDs) in the city of Boston. For each patient-visit, data collected includes date of visit, chief complaint, gender, zipcode of residence, age, … are analyzed for statistical aberrations in the number of visits using the Early Aberration Reporting System (EARSv3). …
  • A Comparison of Locally Developed Influenza-like Syndrome Definitions Using Electronic Emergency Department Data in Boston and New York City

    Content Type: Abstract

    To compare locally-developed influenza-like syndrome definitions (derived from emergency department (ED) chief complaints) when applied to data from two ISDS DiSTRIBuTE Project participants: Boston and New York City (NYC) [1].
    … daily from 10 of 10 EDs in the city of Boston (avg daily visits ~ 1300). The NYCDOHMH collects data daily from 50 of 61 (82%) EDs in NYC representing 94% of all ED visits (avg daily visits ~ 10,000). Each department uses … correlated with the isolate data from each city (range 0.70 - 0.84, p<0.001) than the broad definitions (range 0.42 - …
  • Do Women Really Complain More than Men? Looking at Gastrointestinal Chief Complaints in Boston

    Content Type: Abstract

    The purpose of syndromic surveillance is the early identification of disease outbreaks. Classification of chief complaints into syndromes and the type of statistics used for aberration detection can affect outbreak detection sensitivity and… read more
    … and back pain. [1] METHODS We randomly selected 50,000 visits from 9 Boston adult emergency departments (ED) … Black, 30% White and 67% age 20-49 years. Of the 44,877 visits 4,483 chief complaints were classified as GISG (10%). … and specificity for GIC. (p=0.0032) The proportion of visits among women with GIC, Gi1, and Gi2 was 7.7%, 2.3%, …
  • Bio-Surveillance and Enhanced Situational Awareness

    Content Type: Abstract

      Syndromic surveillance has been used to detect variation in seasonal viral illnesses such as influenza and norovirus infection (1). Limited information is available on the use of a comprehensive bio-surveillance system, including syndromic… read more
    … all age groups. Between 12/1/2006 and 4/1/2007, GI_4 visits averaged 94 a day (7.3% of all visits), compared to 75 visits a day (5.9% of all visits) … 6.00% 8.00% 10.00% 12.00% 1-Dec 15-Dec 29-Dec 12-Jan 26-Jan 9-Feb 23-Feb 9-Mar Pe rc en t o f E D V is its fo r N …