Monique A. Sheppard, PhD, Cecelia B. Snowden, PhD, and Paul R. Jones, MA. Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 11710 Beltsville Drive, Suite 300, Calverton, MD 20705, 3017552728, sheppard@pire.org

Introduction: Poisonings occur every hour of every day. Annually, over 155,000 people were hospital-admitted due to unintentional or undetermined intent poisonings. The objective of this presentation is to explain the differences between the two coding systems which monitor hospitalized poisonings. We develop and explain a crosswalk for translating from one hospital coding system to the other. Methods: Two coding systems were used to evaluate the number and types of hospitalized poisonings among residents of eight northeastern states. The Toxic Exposure Surveillance System (TESS) uses lay terminology to assign substance codes. ICD-9 codes are assigned in hospitalized data after a clinical assessment. Three independent toxicologists translated poison-related ICD-9 codes into TESS codes. The crosswalk was validated when there was agreement among two of the three toxicologists. Results: Of the 499 identified individual ICD-9-CM poison-related codes, there was 97% agreement among the toxicologists as to which of 65 TESS categories that ICD-9-CM code belonged to. Variations in the number of poisonings observed between the two coding systems were found. Conclusions: A crosswalk for other states should be evaluated in order to gain a more global perspective of its utility. Establishing a crosswalk between the two systems will facilitate communication between health professionals and foster improved prevention. In addition, new collaborations will reduce poison-related morbidity and mortality.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Describe the two major coding systems used to describe hospitalized poisonings, ICD-9 and TESS.
• Define and understand the implications of a surveillance crosswalk.
• Recognize that through a 'crosswalk' poison control center staff and public health staff can better understand each other.
• Assess the usefulness of the crosswalk for reporting hospital discharge data in TESS categories.
• Articulate the limitations in both systems for describing poisoning hospitalizations.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.