Performance and limitations of administrative data in the identification of AKI.

Background And Objectives: Billing codes are frequently used to identify AKI events in epidemiologic research. The goals of this study were to validate billing code-identified AKI against the current AKI consensus definition and to ascertain whether sensitivity and specificity vary by patient characteristic or over time.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: The study population included 10,056 Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study participants hospitalized between 1996 and 2008.