Use of volunteer student abstractors for a retrospective cohort analysis: a study of inter-rater reliability.

Background: Little is known about the reliability of data collected by abstractors without professional medical training. This investigation sought to determine the level of agreement among untrained volunteer abstractors as part of a study to evaluate the risk assessment of venous thromboembolism in patients who have undergone trauma.

Methods: Forty-nine paper charts were chosen randomly from a volunteer-reviewed cohort of 2,339 and were compared with those of a single experienced abstractor.

Utility of the risk assessment profile for risk stratification of venous thrombotic events for trauma patients.

Background: Trauma patients are at risk for the development of venous thromboembolism (VTE). The purpose of this study was to validate the Risk Assessment Profile (RAP) as a tool for stratifying the risk of VTE.

Methods: RAP scores were calculated in a retrospective cohort analysis for all trauma patients aged 13 years or older admitted in 2003 and 2006 and hospitalized longer than 48 hours.