Medical Certif Covid-19 PDF
Medical Certif Covid-19 PDF
Medical Certif Covid-19 PDF
Purpose
This technical note describes medical certification of cause of death and classification (International Classification of Diseases [ICD]
mortality coding) of deaths related to COVID-19. The primary goal is to identify all deaths due to COVID-19 in all countries,
including those not yet following WHO international norms and standards for medical certificates of cause of death and ICD
mortality coding. It also addresses the related issue of estimating all deaths associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The document
is divided into three sections: identifying COVID-19 deaths; coding COVID-19 deaths; and measuring and reporting crude mortality
in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic (excess mortality).
Terminology
The official terminology, COVID-19, b should be used for all certification of this cause of death.
Because there are multiple coronaviruses that infect humans, it is recommended not to use “coronavirus” in place of COVID-19.
This helps to reduce uncertainty in the classification or coding and to correctly monitor these deaths.
Chain of events
Specification of the causal sequence leading to death in Part 1 of the certificate is important. For example, in cases when COVID-19
causes pneumonia and fatal respiratory distress, both pneumonia and respiratory distress should be included, along with COVID-19,
in Part 1. Certifiers should include as much detail as possible based on their knowledge of the case, as from medical records or
laboratory testing (e.g. “COVID-19 (test positive)”).
a
Confirmation of COVID-19 infection should be based on established laboratory diagnostic criteria1
b
Temporary name was 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease2
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Medical certification, ICD mortality coding, and reporting mortality associated with COVID-19: Technical Note
Example of how to certify the chain of events for deaths due to COVID-19 in Part 1 of the International Form of Medical
Certificate of Cause of Death
Manner of death:
Disease Assault Could not be determined
Accident Legal intervention Pending investigation
Intentional self harm War Unknown
Note: This is a typical course with a medical certificate of cause of death that has been filled in correctly. Please remember to indicate whether
the virus causing COVID-19 had been identified in the deceased.
Comorbidities
There is increasing evidence that people with existing chronic conditions or compromised immune systems are at higher risk of
death due to COVID-19. Chronic conditions may be non-communicable diseases, such as coronary artery disease, chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and diabetes, or chronic communicable diseases, such as HIV (see below), or disabilities.
If the decedent had existing chronic conditions such as these, they should be reported in Part 2 of the medical certificate of cause of
death.
Examples of how to certify a chain of events for deaths due to COVID 19 in Part 1 of the International Form of Medical
Certificate of Cause of Death, with comorbidities reported in Part 2
Manner of death:
Disease Assault Could not be determined
Accident Legal intervention Pending investigation
Intentional self harm War Unknown
Note: This is a typical course with a medical certificate of cause of death that is filled in correctly. COVID-19 cases may have comorbidities. The
comorbidities are recorded in Part 2.
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Medical certification, ICD mortality coding, and reporting mortality associated with COVID-19: Technical Note
2 Other significant conditions contributing to death (time Cerebral palsy [10 Years]
intervals can be included in brackets after the condition)
Manner of death:
Disease Assault Could not be determined
Accident Legal intervention Pending investigation
Intentional self harm War Unknown
Note: This is a typical course with a certificate that has been filled in correctly. COVID-19 cases may have comorbidities. The comorbidities are
recorded in Part 2
Other examples
COVID-19 and maternal mortality:
Manner of death:
Disease Assault Could not be determined
Accident Legal intervention Pending investigation
Intentional self harm War Unknown
Note: This is a typical course with a certificate that is filled in correctly. In case of a pregnancy, puerperium or birth leading to death in
conjunction with COVID-19, please record the sequence of events as usual, and remember to enter the additional detail for pregnancies in
frame B of the certificate of cause of death.
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Medical certification, ICD mortality coding, and reporting mortality associated with COVID-19: Technical Note
COVID-19 and HIV:
Manner of death:
Disease Assault Could not be determined
Accident Legal intervention Pending investigation
Intentional self harm War Unknown
Note: This is a typical course with a certificate that is filled in correctly. The certifier has identified HIV disease as contributing to the death and
recorded it in Part 2.
The examples below show recording of cases where death may have been influenced by COVID-19, but death was caused by
another disease or an accident.
Manner of death:
Disease Assault Could not be determined
Accident Legal intervention Pending investigation
Intentional self harm War Unknown
Note: Persons with COVID-19 may die of other diseases or accidents. Such cases are not deaths due to COVID-19 and should not be certified
as such. If it is thought that COVID-19 aggravated the consequences of the accident, COVID-19 may be reported in Part 2. Please remember to
indicate the manner of death and record in Part 1 the exact kind of an incident or other external cause.
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Medical certification, ICD mortality coding, and reporting mortality associated with COVID-19: Technical Note
Manner of death:
Disease Assault Could not be determined
Accident Legal intervention Pending investigation
Intentional self harm War Unknown
Note: The clinical illness and sequence of events leading to death may indicate that even in the presence of COVID-19 a person dies due to other
conditions, as in the example above. Such cases are not deaths due to COVID-19 and should not be certified as such. The eventual presence of
COVID-19 may then be recorded in part 2 of the certificate, in case it might have influenced the course of the condition leading to death.
This section addresses the specialized coding community. It provides information about the ICD 10 codes
for COVID-19 and includes mortality classification (coding) instructions for statistical tabulation in the
context of COVID-19.
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Medical certification, ICD mortality coding, and reporting mortality associated with COVID-19: Technical Note
A manual plausibility check is recommended for certificates where COVID-19 is reported, in particular for certificates where
COVID-19 was reported but not selected as the underlying cause of death for statistical tabulation.
Chain of events
Example of how to code this chain of events and select the underlying cause of death for deaths due to COVID 19 in Part 1 of
the International Form of Medical Certificate of Cause of Death
Manner of death:
Disease Assault Could not be determined
Accident Legal intervention Pending investigation
Intentional self harm War Unknown
Note: Select COVID-19 as underlying cause of death. Step SP3 applies as causes have been reported on more than one line in Part 1 and the
condition reported first on the lowest used line (COVID-19) can cause all the conditions, pneumonia (J18.9) and acute respiratory distress
syndrome (J80)—mentioned on the lines above. [See ICD-10 2016 and later, Volume 2, Section 4.2.1].
Comorbidities
Examples of how to code this chain of events on the International Form of Medical Certificate of Cause of Death, and select the
underlying cause of death for deaths due to COVID 19 in Part 1, with comorbidities reported in Part 2
Manner of death:
Disease Assault Could not be determined
Accident Legal intervention Pending investigation
Intentional self harm War Unknown
Note: Code all entries in Part 1 and 2, and, in this example, select COVID-19, specified as suspected (the case is explicitly stated as not having
been confirmed) as underlying cause of death. Step SP3 applies as causes have been reported on more than one line in Part 1 and the condition
reported first on the lowest used line (COVID-19) can cause all the conditions—pneumonia (J18.9) and acute respiratory distress syndrome
(J80)—mentioned on the lines above. [See ICD-10 2016 and later, Volume 2, Section 4.2.1].
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Medical certification, ICD mortality coding, and reporting mortality associated with COVID-19: Technical Note
2 Other significant conditions contributing to death (time Cerebral palsy [10 Years] G80.9
intervals can be included in brackets after the condition)
Manner of death:
Disease Assault Could not be determined
Accident Legal intervention Pending investigation
Intentional self harm War Unknown
Note: Code all entries in Part 1 and 2, and, in this example, select COVID-19 as underlying cause of death (the case has probably tested positive).
Step SP3 applies as causes have been reported on more than one line in Part 1 and the condition reported first on the lowest used line (COVID-
19) can cause both of the conditions—pneumonia (J18.9) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (J80)—mentioned on the lines above. [See
ICD-10 2016 and later, Volume 2, Section 4.2.1]
Other examples
Manner of death:
Disease Assault Could not be determined
Accident Legal intervention Pending investigation
Intentional self harm War Unknown
For women, was the deceased pregnant? Yes No Unknown
At time of death Within 42 days before the death
Between 43 days up to 1 year before death Unknown
Did the pregnancy contribute to the death? Yes No Unknown
Note: Code all entries in Part 1 and 2, and, in this example, select other viral diseases complicating pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium
(O98.5) as underlying cause of death. Step SP3 applies as causes have been reported on more than one line in Part 1 and the condition reported
first on the lowest used line (other viral diseases complicating pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium) can cause both of the conditions—
pneumonia (O99.5 and J18.9) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (O99.5 and J80)—mentioned on the lines above. [See ICD-10 2016 and
later, Volume 2, Section 4.2.1]. Use additional code to retain COVID-19. [See ICD-10 2016 and later, Volume 2, Section 4.2.8 Special instructions
on maternal mortality (Step M4)].
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Medical certification, ICD mortality coding, and reporting mortality associated with COVID-19: Technical Note
Examples of incorrect certification
Manner of death:
Disease Assault Could not be determined
Accident Legal intervention Pending investigation
Intentional self harm War Unknown
Note: The certifier should have added the HIV disease as a comorbidity in Part 2 of the medical certificate of cause of death; however, the selection
rules of ICD allow for identification of COVID-19 as underlying cause of death. COVID-19 is reported in a sequence starting with a terminal
condition (Acute respiratory distress syndrome due to COVID-19). Mortality coding rule step SP4 applies as causes have been reported on more
than one line in Part 1 and the condition reported first on the lowest used line (HIV disease) cannot cause all the conditions. [See ICD-10 2016
and later, Volume 2, Section 4.2.1].
Manner of death:
Disease Assault Could not be determined
Accident Legal intervention Pending investigation
Intentional self harm War Unknown
Note: Code all entries in Part 1 and 2, and, in this example, select motor vehicle accident (V89.2) as underlying cause of death. Step SP3 applies
as causes have been reported on more than one line in Part 1 and the condition reported first on the lowest used line, motor vehicle accident
(V89.2), can cause all the conditions traumatic aortic dissection (S25.0) and traumatic hypovolemic shock (T79.4)—mentioned on the lines above.
[See ICD-10 2016 and later, Volume 2, Section 4.2.1].
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Medical certification, ICD mortality coding, and reporting mortality associated with COVID-19: Technical Note
Manner of death:
Disease Assault Could not be determined
Accident Legal intervention Pending investigation
Intentional self harm War Unknown
Note: The physician has determined and recoded that the myocardial infarction this person died of was not caused by COVID-19. Code all entries
in Part 1 and 2, and, in this example, select acute myocardial infarction (I21.9) as underlying cause of death. Step SP3 applies as causes have
been reported on more than one line in Part 1 and the condition reported first on the lowest used line, myocardial infarction (I21.9), can cause the
condition, heart failure (I50.9), mentioned on the line above. [See ICD-10 2016 and later, Volume 2, Section 4.2.1].
WHO’s requirements for Member States to report weekly number of COVID-19 deaths from their civil registration and vital
statistics systems
Rationale
WHO has been the lead agency in gathering cause-of-death statistics from its Member States’ civil registration and vital statistics
(CRVS) systems yearly since the early 1950s. This function is becoming even more crucial as the during the global pandemic of
COVID-19, in which the availability of timely, accurate, and complete data is essential to understand the true impact of the disease
on mortality. Well-functioning CRVS systems produce cause-of-death statistics that are compiled from individual medical
certificates of cause of death that follow WHO international norms and standards in ICD mortality coding. This enables COVID-19
mortality to be measured in a comparable manner.
During the current pandemic, deaths in health facilities are often the first to be counted, leaving out deaths in the community, elderly
care facilities, etc., thus distorting the real impact.
Obtaining timely, accurate, and complete weekly mortality statistics will help show the impact of COVID-19 on overall mortality
across countries, as well as the sex and age breakdown of mortality, and may identify possible under-reporting of COVID-19 deaths.
Additionally, this will help monitor the impact of interventions. The reporting of certified deaths through the present system will
enable more precise information on a subset (certified deaths) of all COVID-19 deaths, which will complement comprehensive
weekly global surveillance for COVID-19 deaths already in place, as found in WHO’s global surveillance guidance.5
Phase I
To ensure measurement of the indirect mortality impacts of COVID-19 and to include countries not yet following WHO international
norms and standards in medical certificates of cause of death and ICD mortality coding, Member States are asked to submit:
• Total deaths aggregated by week of occurrence, sex, and age group according to a standard file layout. These data should
ideally come from the CRVS system, namely, via established mortality notification systems in both facilities and
communities;
• COVID-19 deaths aggregated by week of occurrence, sex, and age group, according to a standard file layout. These data
should be compiled from the individual medical certificates of cause of death by the authorized national authorities.
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Medical certification, ICD mortality coding, and reporting mortality associated with COVID-19: Technical Note
List of data variables and metadata to be submitted to WHO
Variable Description
Week Week in which deaths occur
Sex Sex of the deceased
Age Age of the deceased by age-group
Cause of death − Total deaths from all causes combined (natural and non-natural)
− COVID-19 is mentioned anywhere on the death certificates (Parts 1 and 2)
− COVID-19 is the underlying cause of death
Metadata
Variable Rationale
Source of data Countries may rely on several sources of data. This collection relies mainly on data from
CRVS systems
Average length of time from Will help in understanding backlogs and expectations of revised and updated figures
occurrence of death to inclusion in
statistics
Estimated completeness of total Incomplete data need to be interpreted with caution and revised accordingly
mortality data from all causes
combined for the most recent week
as submitted to WHO
Estimated completeness of COVID- Incomplete data need to be interpreted with caution and revised accordingly
19-specific mortality data for the
most recent week as submitted to
WHO
Proportion of deaths certified Another measure of timeliness, an electronic system for medical certification enables the
electronically information on death and causes of death to be shared with authorities with no or reduced
delay.
Place(s) of occurrence of death Deaths occur in health facilities, in care homes, and at home, as well in other places such
as prisons or retention centres. Knowing which data are included in the data file will help in
understanding data completeness.
Population(s) covered Countries may have different policies around inclusion of non-citizen residents, deaths of
citizens or residents abroad, or deaths of temporary visitors that occur within the country in
their data. It is also important to know the denominator (catchment population), by age and
sex, to which the mortality data refer.
Phase II
WHO will be approaching Member States to submit anonymized individual-level death records where COVID-19 is mentioned.
Goals
o Allow investigation of comorbidities with COVID-19
o Perform equity analyses or analyses of within-country disparities based on geography, ethnicity, profession, or other factors
relevant to the determination of COVID-19 control policies
Reporting requirements
In addition to the variables reported in Phase I, the following variables would be also needed at the individual level:
o Date of death (day and month and year)
o Place of death (health facilities, care homes, home, prisons, retention centres, etc)
o Was COVID-19 test performed? If yes, was it confirmed positive?
o Place of usual residence by 1st and 2nd geographic area
o Profession
o Ethnicity
o Pregnancy status
o Multiple causes of death (all causes mentioned on Parts 1 and 2 of the death certificates)
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Medical certification, ICD mortality coding, and reporting mortality associated with COVID-19: Technical Note
Data safeguards
WHO has a formal and comprehensive policy for securely managing all databases and information sources hosted by the
Organization. The policy includes information security, technical and physical data security, data access and retention procedures,
and confidentiality arrangements in the context of public health emergencies. Accordingly, WHO will establish measures to
safeguard confidential information about the deceased and prevent misuse of the information. c
c
The Policy Statement on Data Sharing by the World Health Organization in the Context of Public Health Emergencies has been published.6
Eurostat collects anonymized individual-level death record but has put in place an EU regulation to safeguard the data. PAHO started such a
similar project some years ago but due to resource-constraints was unable to continue the project. WHO HQ is considering implementing such a
project within the expansion of its Mortality Database in 2021.
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Medical certification, ICD mortality coding, and reporting mortality associated with COVID-19: Technical Note
References
1. World Health Organization. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) technical guidance: Laboratory testing for 2019-nCoV in
humans. Available from https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-
guidance/laboratory-guidance. Accessed 29 May 2020.
2. World Health Organization. Naming the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the virus that causes it. Available from
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-
(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it. Accessed 29 May 2020.
3. World Health Organization. ICD-10 Version:2019. Available from https://icd.who.int/browse10/2019/. Accessed 29 May
2020.
4. World Health Organization. List of Official ICD-10 Updates. Available from:
https://www.who.int/classifications/icd/icd10updates/en/. Accessed 29 May 2020.
5. World Health Organization. Global surveillance for COVID-19 caused by human infection with COVID-19 virus.
Available from https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/global-surveillance-for-covid-v-19-final200321-
rev.pdf. Accessed 29 May 2020.
6. World Health Organization. Policy Statement on Data Sharing by the World Health Organization in the Context of Public
Health Emergencies. Available from https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/publishing-policies/who-policy-statement-
on-data-sharing.pdf?sfvrsn=71a41493_0. Accessed 29 May 2020.
7. EUROMOMO. https://euromomo.eu/. Accessed 29 May 2020.
8. World Health Organization. World Standard Population. Available from:
https://apps.who.int/healthinfo/statistics/mortality/whodpms/definitions/pop.htm. Accessed 29 May 2020.
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Medical certification, ICD mortality coding, and reporting mortality associated with COVID-19: Technical Note
Cause of Death on the Death Certificate: Quick Reference Guide (Section 7.1.2)
https://icd.who.int/browse10/Content/statichtml/ICD10Volume2_en_2016.pdf
Examples of terms used by certifiers of cause of death to describe COVID-19 and that can be coded as synonyms of COVID-
19:
COVID Positive
Coronavirus Pneumonia (unless clearly related to a non-COVID-19 coronavirus)
COVID-19 Infection
SARS-Cov-2 Infection (Coronavirus Two Infection)
COVID-19 Coronavirus
Infection – COVID-19 (Coroner Informed)
Hospital Acquired Pneumonia - COVID-Positive
Corona Virus two infection (SARS-Cov-2)
Corona Virus Pneumonia (COVID-19)
Coronavirus-Two Infection
Novel coronavirus
WHO continues to monitor the situation closely for any changes that may affect this technical note. Should any factors change,
WHO will issue a further update. Otherwise, this technical note will expire 2 years after the date of publication
© World Health Organization 2020. Some rights reserved. This work is available under the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO licence.
WHO reference number: WHO/2019-nCoV/Mortality_Reporting/2020.1
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