Project #87:
Validation of the OpenSAFELY kidney codes

We aim to ensure that the most accurate data are used to identify people with advanced kidney disease and those who are undergoing kidney replacement therapy (dialysis and kidney transplantation). This is important as for example people with dialysis may have different risks of COVID19 compared to people who have advanced kidney disease but not yet started dialysis, even if both groups have been already vaccinated. Current data held by GPs will have inaccuracies as GPs may only know about dialysis start in a patient after some delay (in receiving letters), and not all hospitals code dialysis as a hospitalisation, therefore existing data held in OpenSAFELY may be inaccurate.