Using an artificial intelligence tool incorporating natural language processing to identify patients with a diagnosis of ANCA-associated vasculitis in electronic health records

Computers in Biology and Medicine, vol. 168, pp. 107757

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Because anti-neutrophil cytoplasmatic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) is a rare, life-threatening, auto-immune disease, conducting research is difficult but essential. A long-lasting challenge is to identify rare AAV patients within the electronic-health-record (EHR)-system to facilitate real-world research. Artificial intelligence (AI)-search tools using natural language processing (NLP) for text-mining are increasingly postulated as a solution. METHODS: We employed an AI-tool that combined text-mining with NLP-based exclusion, to accurately identify rare AAV patients within large EHR-systems (>2.000.000 records). We developed an identification method in an academic center with an established AAV-training set (n = 203) and validated the method in a non-academic center with an AAV-validation set (n = 84). To assess accuracy anonymized patient records were manually reviewed. RESULTS: Based on an iterative process, a text-mining search was developed on disease description, laboratory measurements, medication and specialisms. In the training center, 608 patients were identified with a sensitivity of 97.0 % (95%CI [93.7, 98.9]) and positive predictive value (PPV) of 56.9 % (95%CI [52.9, 60.1]). NLP-based exclusion resulted in 444 patients increasing PPV to 77.9 % (95%CI [73.7, 81.7]) while sensitivity remained 96.3 % (95%CI [93.8, 98.0]). In the validation center, text-mining identified 333 patients (sensitivity 97.6 % (95%CI [91.6, 99.7]), PPV 58.2 % (95%CI [52.8, 63.6])) and NLP-based exclusion resulted in 223 patients, increasing PPV to 86.1 % (95%CI [80.9, 90.4]) with 98.0 % (95%CI [94.9, 99.4]) sensitivity. Our identification method outperformed ICD-10-coding predominantly in identifying MPO+ and organ-limited AAV patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlights the advantages of implementing AI, notably NLP, to accurately identify rare AAV patients within large EHR-systems and demonstrates the applicability and transportability. Therefore, this method can reduce efforts to identify AAV patients and accelerate real-world research, while avoiding bias by ICD-10-coding.

Authors 5

1. Jolijn R. van Leeuwen Aachen Center of Expertise for Lupus-, Vasculitis- and Complement-mediated systemic diseases Department of Internal Medicine-Nephrology Section

   Leiden University · Leiden University Medical Center

   Affiliation as printed

   Center of Expertise for Lupus-, Vasculitis- and Complement-mediated Systemic diseases (LuVaCs), Department of Internal Medicine - Nephrology Section, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands

2. Erik Lars Penne

   Noordwest Ziekenhuisgroep

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Internal Medicine - Nephrology Section, Northwest Clinics, Alkmaar, the Netherlands

   Department of Internal Medicine – Nephrology Section, Northwest Clinics, Alkmaar, the Netherlands

3. Ton J. Rabelink Aachen Center of Expertise for Lupus-, Vasculitis- and Complement-mediated systemic diseases Department of Internal Medicine-Nephrology Section

   Leiden University · Leiden University Medical Center

   Affiliation as printed

   Center of Expertise for Lupus-, Vasculitis- and Complement-mediated Systemic diseases (LuVaCs), Department of Internal Medicine - Nephrology Section, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands

4. Rachel Knevel Aachen Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center

   Leiden University Medical Center

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands

5. Y K Onno Teng corresponding Aachen Center of Expertise for Lupus-, Vasculitis- and Complement-mediated systemic diseases Department of Internal Medicine-Nephrology Section

   Leiden University · Leiden University Medical Center

   Affiliation as printed

   Center of Expertise for Lupus-, Vasculitis- and Complement-mediated Systemic diseases (LuVaCs), Department of Internal Medicine - Nephrology Section, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands. Electronic address: Y.K.O.Teng@lumc.nl

   Center of Expertise for Lupus-, Vasculitis- and Complement-mediated Systemic diseases (LuVaCs), Department of Internal Medicine - Nephrology Section, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands