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Updated: Apr 5, 2026
Remote Laboratory Management: Respiratory Virus Diagnostics
Published on: April 6, 2019
Optimization is required when using linked hospital and laboratory data to investigate respiratory infections
Faye J Lim1, Christopher C Blyth2, Nicholas de Klerk1
1Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, PO Box 855, West Perth, Western Australia 6872, Australia.
Insights
Microbiological testing data linkage for pediatric respiratory infections was validated via chart review. Chart review identified more testing (77%) than data linkage (46%), improving data accuracy.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Health Informatics
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Microbiological testing is recommended for children hospitalized with respiratory infections.
- Previous data linkage studies captured microbiological records for only 45% of these hospitalizations.
- Chart review is a method to validate linked health data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate microbiological data linked from hospitalizations for respiratory infections in children.
- To compare the completeness of microbiological testing data between chart review and data linkage.
Main Methods:
- A chart review was conducted on children under 5 years old hospitalized for respiratory infections in Western Australia (2000-2011).
- Proportions of admissions with microbiological tests and detected pathogens were calculated and compared between chart review and prior data linkage.
- Poisson regression identified factors associated with microbiological testing.
Main Results:
- Microbiological testing was performed in 77% of chart review records versus 46% in the data linkage study.
- Among tested cases, ≥1 respiratory pathogen was detected in 66% of chart review records and 64% of data linkage records.
- Testing frequency was higher in metropolitan hospitals within the chart review cohort.
Conclusions:
- Validation studies are crucial for assessing the quality of linked health data.
- The previous data linkage study underestimated the extent of microbiological testing.
- Study findings will inform improved protocols for future data linkage research.
Objective:
Despite a recommendation for microbiological testing, only 45% of children hospitalized for respiratory infections in our previous data linkage study linked to a microbiological record. We conducted a chart review to validate linked microbiological data.
Study Design And Setting:
The chart review consisted of children aged <5 years admitted to seven selected hospitals for respiratory infections in Western Australia, 2000-2011. We calculated the proportion of admissions where testing was performed and any pathogens detected. We compared these proportions between the chart review and our previous data linkage study. Poisson regression was used to identify factors predicting the likelihood of microbiological tests in the chart review cohort.
Results:
From the chart review, 77% of 746 records had a microbiological test performed compared with 46% of 18,687 records from our previous data linkage study. Of those undergoing testing, 66% of the chart review and 64% of data linkage records had ≥1 respiratory pathogen(s) detected. In the chart review cohort, frequency of testing was highest in children admitted to metropolitan hospitals.
Conclusion:
Validation studies are essential to ensure the quality of linked data. Our previous data linkage study failed to capture all relevant microbiological records. Findings will be used to optimize extraction protocols for future linkage studies.
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