Tools & Resources

ICD-Based Diagnosis Grouping System

(DGS) for child ED visits

Check Mark Download the Updated Manuscript

Check MarkDownload the Original Manuscript

Check Mark Download the Grouping System (DGS – ICD-10) – SAS VERSION
(zip file for SAS)

Check Mark Download the Grouping System (DGS- ICD-10) – EXCEL VERSION
(zip file for Excel)

Check Mark Download the Grouping System (DGS – ICD-9) – SAS VERSION
(zip file for SAS)

Check Mark Download the Grouping System (DGS – ICD-9) – EXCEL VERSION
(zip file for Excel)

A meaningful classification of pediatric diagnoses seen in emergency departments can provide a systematic method to describe, aggregate, and compare trends within and across institutions to facilitate clinical research and quality improvement.

The Diagnosis Grouping System (DGS) was created with twenty-one clinically relevant major diagnosis groups and seventy-seven subgroups that are largely based on body system or body region involved. The DGS was first developed to account for International Classification of Disease 9th revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9) codes. The DGS has been updated to account for ICD-10 codes.

The created ICD-based Diagnosis Grouping System is

  1. Clinically sensible with regard to how diagnoses are grouped;
  2. Comprehensive in accounting for nearly all diagnoses occurring in pediatric emergency medicine visits; and
  3. Parsimonious in that the number of groups developed is acceptable for descriptive and analytic purposes.

The DGS is available for SAS users and/or Excel users as two separate “zip” files located above.

Updated Manuscript Citation:
Fant C, Marin JR, Ramgopal S, Simon NE, Richards R, Olsen CS, Alessandrini EA, Alpern ER; PECARN Registry Study Group. Updated Diagnosis Grouping System for Pediatric Emergency Department Visits. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2022 May 25. doi: 10.1097/PEC.0000000000002692. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35881008.

Original Manuscript Citation:
Alessandrini EA, Alpern ER, Chamberlain JM, Shea JA, Gorelick MH. A New Diagnosis Grouping System for Child Emergency Department Visits. Academic Emergency Medicine 2010; 17:204-213.

PECARN Disparities Working Group

Understanding and addressing healthcare disparities relies on the collection and reporting of accurate data, both in clinical care and in research. This data dictionary was developed by the PECARN Disparities Working Group to be used as a reference manual when planning the collection of data in pediatric emergency medicine research. 

The data elements are grouped into three categories: Core elements are reasonable to collect on all research participants for all prospective or retrospective studies. Suggested data elements facilitate examination of disparities but may require active collection or may not be available in most electronic health records. Possible/Potential data elements require prospective collection, but may be valuable for specific types of analysis. 

The PECARN Registry contains many of these data elements. The presence, consistency, and characterization of each data elements in the PECARN Registry is included in the data dictionary. 

Check Mark https://pecarn.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/PECARN-Disparities-Working-Data-Elements10.27.23.xlsx

For further information contact Melissa Laws, BSN, CCRC EMSC Data Center Director at Melissa.laws@hsc.utah.edu

Miscellaneous

Definition of Terms

Helpful Links

This website is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of the Emergency Medical Services for Children Data Center award totaling $3,200,000 with 0% financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.