Table 1. Registries from which syndrome data were obtained, the Netherlands, 1999–2004*.
| Data type | Period | % Coverage† | Respiratory syndrome definitions‡ | Analyzed data | International code system | Registry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absenteeism | 2002–2003 | 80§ | Reported sick employees; no further medical information | Sick leave reports of employees | – | Statistics Netherlands (CBS), www.cbs.nl |
| General practice consultations | 2001–2004 | 1–2 | Symptoms and diagnoses indicating respiratory infectious disease | Symptoms and diagnoses recorded in practice or telephone consultations and in home visits | ICPC | Netherlands Information Network of General Practice (LINH), www.nivel.nl/linh |
| Pharmacy dispensations | 2001–2003 | 85 | Prescribed medications indicative for respiratory infectious disease | Prescription medications dispensed in Dutch pharmacies, coded according to the WHO ATC classification | ATC | Foundation for Pharmaceutical Statistics, http://www.sfk.nl |
| Hospitalization | 1999–2004 | 99 | General respiratory symptoms/diagnoses; specific respiratory biologic agent diagnoses | Discharge and secondary diagnoses, date of hospitalization | ICD-9-CM | Dutch National Medical Register (LMR) |
| Laboratory submissions¶ | 2001–2004 (1999–2000 excluded due to unstable coverage) | 16 | All submissions for microbiologic diagnostic tests on respiratory materials; all submissions for serologic testing on known specific respiratory pathogens; all submissions for Legionella or Streptococcus pneumoniae antigen tests on urine | Laboratory submission requests for diagnostic testing | – | National Infectious Diseases Information System (ISIS) (13) |
| Mortality | 1999–2004 | 100 | General respiratory symptoms/diagnoses; specific respiratory biologic agent diagnoses | Date of death, primary cause of death, complicating factors, other additional causes of death | ICD-10 | CBS |
*ICPC, International Classification of Primary Care; WHO, World Health Organization; ATC, Anatomic Therapeutic Chemical Classification System; ICD-9-CM, International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification; ICD-10, International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision. †Percentage of total population, 16.3 million. ‡For detailed syndrome definitions and codes, see Technical Appendix. §Percentage of working population, 8 million. ¶Diagnostic test requests with both negative and positive results.