Impact of differential injury reporting on the estimation of the total number of work-related amputations.

Background: A capture-recapture analysis was performed to estimate the total number of work-related amputations. We examined the impact of misclassification due to differential injury reporting on the estimate of total number of work-related amputations.
Methods: Bureau of Labor Statistics' Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) samples and workers' compensation records (WC) were used to estimate the total number of work-related amputations. Some of the amputation cases in one data source matched with injuries other than amputations in the other data source. We performed sensitivity analyses reassigning such cases as matched amputations.
Results: Depending on how we treated the cases matched with other injuries, the total number of work-related amputations ranged from 276 to 442 cases, yielding dramatically different capture rates (35-87%).
Conclusion: Due to differential classification, estimates of work-related amputations would be biased. Our findings highlight the importance of accurately reporting and classifying work-related injuries and illnesses.
(© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)