Abnormal Heartbeat: Abnormal heart rate or rhythm including tachycardia, bradycardia, fibrillation, flutter and heart block. Does not include heart attack, congenital heart defects, or heart valve disorders.
Blood Clot in Extremities: Inflammation of a blood vessel with the formation of a thrombus (blood clot) in a deep or superficial vein involving the legs, arms, and other parts of the body. Includes deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
Blood Clot in Lung: The formation of a thrombus (blood clot) and/or infarction (damage or death) of the lung tissue. Often called pulmonary embolism or pulmonary infarct.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): Chronic lung disease where breathing is difficult due to airway narrowing, excess mucus production or inflammation. It is caused most frequently by bronchitis, asthma, or emphysema.
Congestive Heart Failure (CHF): Heart failure occurs when the heart loses its ability to pump enough blood through the body. Heart failure usually worsens over time as the heart gradually loses its pumping ability and works less efficiently, resulting in high blood pressure and fluid collection in the lungs.
Diabetes with Amputation: Includes patients who have diabetes and undergo an amputation of the arm, leg, or toe.
Diabetes - Medical Management: Includes patients hospitalized for control of blood sugar. Conditions include coma, high blood sugar crisis, and fluid imbalances. Kidney, eye, nerve, or blood vessel damage related to diabetes are included.
Heart Attack - Medical Management: A heart attack (myocardial infarction) occurs when there is blockage or obstruction in the blood vessels that supply oxygen to the heart muscle causing an infarction (damage or death) to an area of the heart. Included are heart attack patients who were treated without a balloon (angioplasty) procedure or open heart surgery.
Intestinal Obstruction: Partial or complete blockage of the intestine often caused by scar tissue, tumors, twisting and kinking, or decreased blood supply that prevents the contents in the intestine from passing beyond the blockage.
Kidney Failure: Short and long-term kidney (renal) failure due to high blood pressure, heart disease, or damage to kidney tissue. Does not include dialysis or transplants.
Kidney and Urinary Tract Infections: Acute and chronic infections of the kidney and urinary tract. Does not include urinary stone or urinary symptoms such as frequency, bleeding, or pain.
Pneumonia - Aspiration: Inflammation of the lungs and bronchial tubes caused by inhaling foreign material, such as food, drink, vomit, or secretions from the mouth into the lungs. Does not include infectious pneumonia.
Pneumonia - Infectious: Simple pneumonia (inflammation of the lung) includes viral and bacterial pneumonia, as well as pleurisy, an inflammation of the membrane surrounding the lungs.
Respiratory Failure with Mechanical Ventilation: Failure of the lungs to support the exchange of essential gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide) making the use of mechanical ventilation necessary. A mechanical ventilator (breathing machine) delivers oxygen through a tube placed in the mouth or nose into the trachea (windpipe). The breathing machine can be set to help or completely control breathing.
Respiratory Failure without Mechanical Ventilation: Inability of the lungs to support the exchange of essential gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide) without the need for mechanical ventilation.
Stomach and Intestinal Bleeding: Bleeding from ulcers or areas of inflammation in the stomach, small or large intestine, rectum, or esophagus (muscular tube that connects the mouth to the stomach).
Septicemia: Also known as blood poisoning, is a system-wide infection of the patient's blood. Does not include post-operative or post-injury infections.
Stroke - Hemorrhagic: Stroke is a cardiovascular disease that affects the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain. In hemorrhagic strokes, a blood vessel in the brain breaks or ruptures and causes bleeding (hemorrhage) within or around the brain.
Stroke - Non-hemorrhagic: In ischemic (non-hemorrhagic) strokes, a blood clot blocks a blood vessel in the brain or an artery leading to the brain. This is the most common type of stroke. Transient ischemic attack (temporary stroke symptoms) is not included.
Code-Based Procedure Descriptions
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair: An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a bulge in the aorta (the aorta is the main blood vessel coming from the heart that supplies blood to all organs) in the abdomen. Does not include endovascular (minimally invasive graft technique) repairs or ruptured aneurysm repairs.
Colorectal Procedures: The majority of colorectal procedures are performed in relation to the presence of cancer or diverticulitis (inflammation of part of the lower digestive tract). Does not include patients with abdominal trauma.
Gallbladder Removal - Laparoscopic: Cholecystectomy is the operation for removal of the gallbladder. Included are patients who underwent this type of surgery carried out with a laparoscope (microscopic camera) through 3 or 4 small incisions.
Gallbladder Removal - Open: Traditional gallbladder removal surgery that is carried out through an incision in the right side of the upper abdomen.
Heart Attack - Angioplasty/Stent: Treatment (called percutaneous translumial coronary angioplasty or PTCA) of a heart attack using special balloons to open up obstructed arteries and increase blood flow to the heart. Often, a stent (a mesh tube) is inserted in the blocked or narrowed artery to open it wider and prevent renarrowing or recurring blockage. Does not include coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG).
Hip Fracture - Surgical Repair: Fracture (broken bone) of the hip involves the top portion of the femur (thigh bone). Surgical repair includes inserting a pin, rod or screw into the bone to hold the fracture together for healing or may also include a partial or total hip joint replacement.
Hysterectomy - Abdominal: An operation, performed through an abdominal incision, to remove the uterus (womb) and sometimes the ovaries and fallopian tubes. This type of surgery is performed when vaginal or laparoscopic approaches are deemed inappropriate for a variety of conditions including female cancers, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, pelvic trauma, and uterine or vaginal prolapse.
Hysterectomy - Vaginal: Includes hysterectomy through a vaginal approach and those laparoscopically (use of microscopic camera) assisted. Includes hysterectomy performed for a variety of conditions such as female cancers, pelvic trauma, uterine fibroids, and endometriosis.
Prostatectomy - Radical: Radical prostatectomy is the surgical removal of the entire prostate. This type of surgery is usually performed when localized cancer is present.
Prostatectomy - Transurethral: This type of surgery involves the surgical removal of part of the prostate gland and is usually done to relieve urinary symptoms caused by benign (non-cancerous) enlargement of the prostate.