ICD-10 coding in otorhinolaryngological malformations: Analyses of 2342 Q-diagnoses

IntroductionThe 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) includes more than 14,400 codes. The aim of this study was to study the prevalence and demographics of otorhinolaryngological congenital malformations in an outpatient clinic based of the ICD-10 Q-diagnoses used for congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities.Materials and methodsElectronic hospital records covering six years (2007–2013) were searched to identify all patients with ICD-10 Q-diagnosis.Results2342 patients were identified. Malformations of the face and neck were most prevalent (30%). The gender distribution was equal except malformations of tongue, mouth and pharynx, where 70% of the patients were male.ConclusionsThere seems to be a significant excess of ICD-10 codes for otorhinolaryngological malformations. Ten most common otorhinolaryngological malformation codes cover more than 94% of the diagnoses. In addition, the illogicalities and the possibility of coding by diagnosis, symptoms or clinical findings makes the coding suboptimal for the purposes it was originally created for. Malformations of the nose and larynx are rare compared to other anatomic localizations. The age at diagnosis of branchial cysts differs significantly from all other congenital malformations supporting the theory of cystic transformation of cervical lymph nodes.