High Validity and Completeness of the Septoplasty Surgical Procedure Code in the Danish National Patient Registry

Ensuring the validity and completeness of clinical data is crucial when utilizing nationwide registers such as the Danish National Patient Registry (DNPR) for epidemiological research. The literature on this topic is, however, strongly lacking for Ear-nose-and-throat (ENT) surgery. The aim of this study was to assess the validity and completeness of the septoplasty surgical procedure code in DNPR.

This population-based validation and completeness study included all cases of septoplasty surgical procedure codes registered in the DNPR in 2021 and 2022 at the ENT department at Odense University Hospital (OUH) in Denmark. The unique personal registration number was used to identify cases from the DNPR in OUH data registrations. All surgical notes were evaluated manually to determine whether septoplasty had been performed. The primary outcomes were validity (PPV) and completeness assessed as the sensitivity, presented with 95% confidence intervals (CI).

A total of 479 cases were identified from the DNPR. Upon evaluation of the surgical notes and after withdrawal of duplicates, 470 cases were confirmed to have undergone septoplasty, resulting in a PPV of 99% (95% CI (97.6-99.7)). From the OUH data registrations, 485 registrations of septoplasty were identified. Evaluation of the surgical notes left 475 cases of confirmed septoplasty, corresponding to five missing cases in the DNPR, resulting in a sensitivity of 99% (95% CI (97.6-99.7)).

This study showed high validity and completeness for registrations of the septoplasty surgical procedure code in the DNPR. We therefore conclude that the DNPR is a reliable tool for epidemiological research concerning septoplasty.