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. 2020 Dec 21;20(1):341.
doi: 10.1186/s12911-020-01374-w.

The German Corona Consensus Dataset (GECCO): a standardized dataset for COVID-19 research in university medicine and beyond

Julian Sass  1 , Alexander Bartschke  2 , Moritz Lehne  1 , Andrea Essenwanger  1 , Eugenia Rinaldi  2 , Stefanie Rudolph  2 , Kai U Heitmann  3 , Jörg J Vehreschild  4   5   6 , Christof von Kalle  1   2 , Sylvia Thun  7   8   9
Affiliations

The German Corona Consensus Dataset (GECCO): a standardized dataset for COVID-19 research in university medicine and beyond

Julian Sass et al. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. .

Abstract

Background: The current COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surge of research activity. While this research provides important insights, the multitude of studies results in an increasing fragmentation of information. To ensure comparability across projects and institutions, standard datasets are needed. Here, we introduce the "German Corona Consensus Dataset" (GECCO), a uniform dataset that uses international terminologies and health IT standards to improve interoperability of COVID-19 data, in particular for university medicine.

Methods: Based on previous work (e.g., the ISARIC-WHO COVID-19 case report form) and in coordination with experts from university hospitals, professional associations and research initiatives, data elements relevant for COVID-19 research were collected, prioritized and consolidated into a compact core dataset. The dataset was mapped to international terminologies, and the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standard was used to define interoperable, machine-readable data formats.

Results: A core dataset consisting of 81 data elements with 281 response options was defined, including information about, for example, demography, medical history, symptoms, therapy, medications or laboratory values of COVID-19 patients. Data elements and response options were mapped to SNOMED CT, LOINC, UCUM, ICD-10-GM and ATC, and FHIR profiles for interoperable data exchange were defined.

Conclusion: GECCO provides a compact, interoperable dataset that can help to make COVID-19 research data more comparable across studies and institutions. The dataset will be further refined in the future by adding domain-specific extension modules for more specialized use cases.

Keywords: COVID-19; FHIR; Interoperability; Standard dataset.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Workflow of consensus building and definition of data elements for the GECCO dataset
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
GECCO dataset categories into which data elements were grouped
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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