title: The Coding Causes of Death in HIV (CoDe) Project: initial results and evaluation of methodology.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Coding Causes of Death in HIV (CoDe) Project aims to deliver a standardized method for coding the underlying cause of death in HIV-positive persons, suitable for clinical trials and epidemiologic studies.
  
  
  METHODS
  The project incorporates detailed data collection, a classification system, and a centralized adjudication process performed by 2 independent reviewers. The methodology was tested in the Data Collection on Adverse events of Anti-HIV Drugs Study , and independent reviews of causes of death were compared. Logistic regression models identified factors associated with initial agreement by reviewers on underlying cause of death.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 491 reported fatal cases were adjudicated; in only 5% of cases the cause of death remained undetermined after adjudication. Reviewers initially agreed on the underlying cause for 339 (69%) deaths. As compared with deaths due to AIDS-related causes, the odds of agreement were more than 80% lower when deaths were ultimately deemed to be due to non-AIDS-related causes (odds ratio = 0.17 [95% confidence interval = 0.08-0.37]) or undetermined causes (0.11 [0.04-0.36]). The odds of initial agreement were also lower for deaths occurring in subjects with hypertension (0.43 [0.22-0.85]) and depression (0.43 [0.23-0.80]).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The extent and format of data collected in the CoDe Project appear to be sufficient for an informed review, and the proposed coding scheme is adequate for obtaining an underlying cause of death.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. jko@cphiv.dk
authors.forename: Justyna D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Kowalska
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Friis-Møller
authors.forename: Ole
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kirk
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Bannister
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mocroft
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sabin
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Reiss
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gill
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lewden
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: D'Arminio Monforte
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Law
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sterne
authors.forename: Stephane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Wit
authors.forename: Jens D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Lundgren
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002423:Cause of Death; D059019:Clinical Coding / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000401:mortality*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance