{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T02:33:08Z","timestamp":1787020388271,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":17,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,2]],"date-time":"2021-02-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1612224000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,2]],"date-time":"2021-02-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1612224000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["BMC Med Inform Decis Mak"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Data from clinical registries may be linked to gain additional insights into disease processes, risk factors and outcomes. Identifying information varies from full names, addresses and unique identification codes to statistical linkage keys to no direct identifying information at all. A number of databases in Australia contain the statistical linkage key 581 (SLK-581). Our aim was to investigate the ability to link data using SLK-581 between two national databases, and to compare this linkage to that achieved with direct identifiers or other non-identifying variables.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons database (ANZSCTS-CSD) contains fully identified data. The Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society database (ANZICS-APD) contains non-identified data together with SLK-581. Identifying data is removed at participating hospitals prior to central collation and storage. We used the local hospital ANZICS-APD data at a large single tertiary centre prior to deidentification and linked this to ANZSCTS-CSD data. We compared linkage using SLK-581 to linkage using non-identifying variables (dates of admission and discharge, age and sex) and linkage using a complete set of unique identifiers. We compared the rate of match, rate of mismatch and clinical characteristics between unmatched patients using the different methods.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>There were 1283 patients eligible for matching in the ANZSCTS-CSD. 1242 were matched using unique identifiers. Using non-identifying variables 1151\/1242 (92.6%) patients were matched. Using SLK-581, 1202\/1242 (96.7%) patients were matched. The addition of non-identifying data to SLK-581 provided few additional patients (1211\/1242, 97.5%). Patients who did not match were younger, had a higher mortality risk and more non-standard procedures vs matched patients. The differences between unmatched patients using different matching strategies were small.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>All strategies provided an acceptable linkage. SLK-581 improved the linkage compared to non-identifying variables, but was not as successful as direct identifiers. SLK-581 may be used to improve linkage between national registries where identifying information is not available or cannot be released.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12911-021-01393-1","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,2]],"date-time":"2021-02-02T13:08:02Z","timestamp":1612271282000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":12,"title":["Linkage of Australian national registry data using a statistical linkage key"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6182-268X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tim G.","family":"Coulson","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael","family":"Bailey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chris","family":"Reid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gil","family":"Shardey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jenni","family":"Williams-Spence","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sue","family":"Huckson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shaila","family":"Chavan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"David","family":"Pilcher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,2]]},"reference":[{"issue":"3","key":"1393_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"192","DOI":"10.1093\/intqhc\/mzx196","volume":"30","author":"D Emdadul Hoque","year":"2018","unstructured":"Emdadul Hoque D, Ruseckaite R, Lorgelly P, McNeil JJ, Evans SM. Cross-sectional study of characteristics of clinical registries in Australia: a resource for clinicians and policy makers. Int J Qual Health Care. 2018;30(3):192\u20139.","journal-title":"Int J Qual Health Care"},{"issue":"10","key":"1393_CR2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2709","DOI":"10.1053\/j.jvca.2019.03.009","volume":"33","author":"L Hessels","year":"2019","unstructured":"Hessels L, Coulson TG, Seevanayagam S, Young P, Pilcher D, Marhoon N, et al. Development and validation of a score to identify cardiac surgery patients at high risk of prolonged mechanical ventilation. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth. 2019;33(10):2709\u201316.","journal-title":"J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth"},{"issue":"12","key":"1393_CR3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1467","DOI":"10.1111\/anae.13967","volume":"72","author":"TG Coulson","year":"2017","unstructured":"Coulson TG, Bailey M, Reid CM, Tran L, Mullany DV, Smith JA, Pilcher D. The association between peri-operative acute risk change (ARC) and long-term survival after cardiac surgery. Anaesthesia. 2017;72(12):1467\u201375. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/anae.13967.","journal-title":"Anaesthesia."},{"issue":"2","key":"1393_CR4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"212","DOI":"10.1136\/amiajnl-2013-002165","volume":"21","author":"H-C Kum","year":"2014","unstructured":"Kum H-C, Krishnamurthy A, Machanavajjhala A, Reiter MK, Ahalt S. Privacy preserving interactive record linkage (PPIRL). J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2014;21(2):212\u201320.","journal-title":"J Am Med Inform Assoc"},{"key":"1393_CR5","unstructured":"Assessing the Quality of Linking School Enrolment Records to 2011 Census Data, Apr 2013, [internet]. [cited Feb 2020] Available from: https:\/\/www.abs.gov.au\/ausstats\/abs@.nsf\/mf\/1351.0.55.041."},{"issue":"5","key":"1393_CR6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"654","DOI":"10.1197\/jamia.M2265","volume":"15","author":"M Tromp","year":"2008","unstructured":"Tromp M, M\u00e9ray N, Ravelli ACJ, Reitsma JB, Bonsel GJ. Ignoring dependency between linking variables and its impact on the outcome of probabilistic record linkage studies. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2008;15(5):654\u201360.","journal-title":"J Am Med Inform Assoc"},{"key":"1393_CR7","unstructured":"SLK-581 Guide for use [Internet]. [cited 2020 Feb 17]. Available from https:\/\/www.aihw.gov.au\/getmedia\/e1d4d462-8efa-4efa-8831-fa84d6f5d8d9\/aodts-nmds-2016-17-SLK-581-guide.pdf.aspx"},{"issue":"1","key":"1393_CR8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"85","DOI":"10.1186\/1472-6947-14-85","volume":"14","author":"LK Taylor","year":"2014","unstructured":"Taylor LK, Irvine K, Iannotti R, Harchak T, Lim K. 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J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2015;22(5):1072\u201380.","journal-title":"J Am Med Inform Assoc"}],"container-title":["BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"http:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1186\/s12911-021-01393-1.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"http:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1186\/s12911-021-01393-1\/fulltext.html","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"http:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1186\/s12911-021-01393-1.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,2]],"date-time":"2021-02-02T13:08:49Z","timestamp":1612271329000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/bmcmedinformdecismak.biomedcentral.com\/articles\/10.1186\/s12911-021-01393-1"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,2]]},"references-count":17,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,12]]}},"alternative-id":["1393"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s12911-021-01393-1","relation":{},"ISSN":["1472-6947"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1472-6947","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,2]]},"assertion":[{"value":"30 March 2020","order":1,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"11 January 2021","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"2 February 2021","order":3,"name":"first_online","label":"First Online","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"Ethics approval was granted by the Alfred Hospital Ethics committee (HREC number 86-19). The Alfred hospital granted permission to access the raw data, along with ANZSCTS. The requirement for individual patient consent was waived by the ethics committee.","order":1,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval and consent"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for publication"}},{"value":"The authors declare they have no competing interests.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"37"}}