National and Regional Representativeness of Hospital Emergency Department Visit Data in the National Syndromic Surveillance Program, United States, 2014.

Objective: We examined the representativeness of the nonfederal hospital emergency department (ED) visit data in the National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP).

Methods: We used the 2012 American Hospital Association Annual Survey Database, other databases, and information from state and local health departments participating in the NSSP about which hospitals submitted data to the NSSP in October 2014. We compared ED visits for hospitals submitting data with all ED visits in all 50 states and Washington, DC.

Analytical challenges for emerging public health surveillance.

The root of effective disease control and prevention is an informed understanding of the epidemiology of a particular disease based on sound scientific interpretation of evidence. Such evidence must frequently be transformed from raw data into consumable information before it can be used for making decisions, determining policy, and conducting programs. However, the work of building such evidence in public health practice--doing the right thing at the right time--is essentially hidden from view.

Automated surveillance of Clostridium difficile infections using BioSense.

Objective: To determine the feasibility of using electronic laboratory and admission-discharge-transfer data from BioSense, a national automated surveillance system, to apply new modified Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) surveillance definitions and calculate overall and facility-specific rates of disease.

Design: Retrospective, multicenter cohort study.

Setting: Thirty-four hospitals sending inpatient, emergency department, and/or outpatient data to BioSense.

Detection of pneumonia using free-text radiology reports in the BioSense system.

Objective: Near real-time disease detection using electronic data sources is a public health priority. Detecting pneumonia is particularly important because it is the manifesting disease of several bioterrorism agents as well as a complication of influenza, including avian and novel H1N1 strains. Text radiology reports are available earlier than physician diagnoses and so could be integral to rapid detection of pneumonia.

Summary of data reported to CDC's national automated biosurveillance system, 2008.

Background: BioSense is the US national automated biosurveillance system. Data regarding chief complaints and diagnoses are automatically pre-processed into 11 broader syndromes (e.g.

Enhancing time-series detection algorithms for automated biosurveillance.

BioSense is a US national system that uses data from health information systems for automated disease surveillance. We studied 4 time-series algorithm modifications designed to improve sensitivity for detecting artificially added data. To test these modified algorithms, we used reports of daily syndrome visits from 308 Department of Defense (DoD) facilities and 340 hospital emergency departments (EDs).

An analysis of rotavirus vaccine reports to the vaccine adverse event reporting system: more than intussusception alone?

Background: The rhesus-human rotavirus reassortant-tetravalent vaccine (RRV-TV) was licensed on August, 31, 1998, and subsequently recommended for routine infant immunizations in the United States. After approximately 1 million doses had been administered, an increase in acute risk of intussusception in vaccinees led to the suspension of the use of RRV-TV and its withdrawal from the market. These postmarketing safety studies focused on a single adverse event (intussusception) and, to minimize the risk of a false-positive finding, accepted only cases that met a strict case definition.