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LOINC Release Notes
Release notes for LOINC.
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LOINC Release Notes
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.38 |
| Released December 2011 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.38 contains 68,350 terms, an increase of 3,346 since the June 2011 version. Approximately 490 terms have been edited. A total of 1,765 terms have been deprecated.
Included in this release is a large number of new RAD terms and we anticipate that more will be added in the upcoming months. Also included are terms for NeuroQOL, OPTIMAL survey(American Physical Therapy Association), NEMSIS, the CARE long term care hospital (LTCH) survey and core terms for behavior for SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
As we announced in June 2011, we have made changes to the LOINC database field.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.37 |
| Released December 2011 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.37 was a limited release
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.36 |
| Released June 2011 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.36 contains 65,004 terms, an increase of 3,749 since the December 2010 version. Approximately 1,1920 terms have been edited. A total of 1,655 terms have been deprecated.
Included in this release is a large bolus of new PHENx terms. We are continue to work closely with the ACLA in the development of common tests and order sets.
These are proposed changes for next public release (December 2011).If you have questions or concerns about these changes, please send your comments to loinc@loinc.org
FIELD ACTION REASON
LOINC_NUM Increase size to 7 characters Enable support for many more LOINC numbers
RELAT_NMS Delete This field is obsolete.The contents have moved to our part-based synonymy and stored in RELATEDNAMES2 field.
DT_LAST_CH Rename to DATE_LAST_CHANGED. Change datatype from string to date. Name consistency and data integrity.
ANSWERLIST Delete This field is obsolete. The contents have moved to a table-based answer list structure.
SCOPE Delete This field is obsolete (and was not ever used).
IPCC_UNITS Delete This field is obsolete.
REFERENCE Delete This field is obsolete. The contents have moved to a table-based reference information structure.
EXACT_CMP_SY Delete This field is obsolete. The contents have moved to the Parts table.
FINAL Delete Internal use only field.
SETROOT Delete This field is obsolete. Panel and hierarchical relationships are stored in a separate structure.
PANELELEMENTS Delete This field is obsolete. Panel and hierarchical relationships are stored in a separate structure.
INPC_PERCENTAGE Delete This field is obsolete. It has been superceded by the COMMON_TEST_RANK field that represents a more robust common test list described at http://loinc.org/usageDEFINITION_DESCRIPTION_HELP Delete This field is obsolete. The contents have moved to a table-based reference information structure.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.35 |
| Released June 2011 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.35 was a limited release
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.34 |
| Released December 2010 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.34 contains 61,255 terms, an increase of 2288 since the June 2010 version. Approximately 695 terms have been edited. A total of 1,704 terms have been deprecated.
Included in this release are the PROMIS survey, additional PHENx terms, Cephalometrics terms and detailed cytogenetics testing template. We continue to work with the ACLA in the development of order sets.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.33 |
| Released December2010 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.33 was a limited release
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.32 |
| Released June 2010 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.32 contains 58,967 terms, an increase of 1,274 since the February 2010 version. Approximately 470 terms have been edited. A total of 1,612 terms have been deprecated.
This release contains a major enhancement to the STATUS field. In the past, the field only had two concept values - null and DEL. With this release, there are four concept values - ACTIVE (previously null), DEPRECATED (previously DEL),DISCOURAGED (new) and TRIAL (new). These are defined as follows:
ACTIVE: Concept is active. Use at will.
TRIAL: Concept is experimental in nature. Use with caution as it may change.
DISCOURAGED: Concept is not recommended for current use. New mappings to this concept are discouraged, but existing mappings may still remain valid.
DEPRECATED: Concept is deprecated. Concept should not be used, but is retained in LOINC for historical purposes. The superseding concept is indicated wherever possible in the MAP_TO field.
Included in this release is a large number of DRUG/TOX terms requested by a toxicology and forensic testing laboratory and a number of new CARD.US terms for pediatic ultrasound.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.31 |
| Released June 2010 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.31 was a limited release
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.30 |
| Released February 2010 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.30 contains 57,693 terms, an increase of 210 since the December 2009 version. Approximately 89 terms have been edited. A total of 26 terms have been deprecated.
This release includes further enhancements to newborn screening terms, updates to the OASIS-C and MDSv3 patient assessment instrument content, and refinement of common laboratory panels made in collaboration with the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) and in support of HITSP C80.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.29 |
| Released December 2009 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.29 contains 57,475 terms, an increase of 2,417 since the June 2009 version. Approximately 830 terms have been edited. A total of 1,546 terms have been deprecated.
New content in this release includes further enhancements to Minimum Data Set version 3 (MDSv3), Outcome and Assessment Information Set version C (OASIS-C) and Newborn Screening terms.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.28 |
| Released December 2009 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.28 was a limited release containing 57,312 terms.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.27 |
| Released June 2009 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.27 contains 55,058 terms, an increase of 1,714 since the January 2009 version. Approximately 685 terms have been edited. A total of 1,454 terms have been deprecated.
In this release we have expanded the LONG_COMMON_NAME field,to include all LOINC terms. This process that populates this field as well as the SHORT_NAME field will continue to be modified over the next several releases. We welcome suggestions on how to improve to make more easily readable terms.
New content in this release includes additional Continuity Assessment Record and Evaluation (CARE) terms, Minimum Data Set (MDS) version 3, Patient Health Record panels, Quality Health Reporting Document Architecture (QRDA), howRU survey, Public Health document, and addtional HL7 Clinical Genomics terms.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.26 |
| Released January 2009 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.26 contains 53,344 terms, an increase of 932 since the July 2008 version. Approximately 1,100 terms have been edited. A total of 1,426 terms have been deprecated.
This release includes a new field called LONG_COMMON_NAME, which is displays the LOINC term in readable English.
New content in this release includes more Newborn Screening tests, sets of terms used in HEDIS, US Surgeon General's Family Health History tool, and Continuity Assessment Record and Evaluation (CARE) terms.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.25 |
| Released December 2008 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.25 was a limited release.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.24 |
| Released July 2008 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.24 contains 52,412 terms, an increase of 1,603 since the December 2007 version. Approximately 800 terms have been edited. A total of 1,379 terms have been deprecated.
This release contains a few sets of terms, including automated urinalysis, newborn screening tests and detailed genetic testing template.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.23 |
| Released June 2008 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.23 contains 52,400 terms. This was a limited release.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.22 |
| Released December 2007 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.22 contains 50,809 terms, an increase of 2,209 since the June 2007 version. Approximately 500 terms have been edited. A total of 1,359 terms have been deprecated.
Several unused or obsolete fields have been removed from this version of the database. The collection of fields that stored mappings to related codes, example units of measure, and our earliest foreign language translations have been migrated out of the main LOINC table and are now stored in a more structured format within the RELMA.mdb database. In summary, there are now 43 fields in LOINC.mdb, instead of 63. Please see Appendix A of the LOINC User's Guide (LOINCManual.doc) for more information on the structure of the database.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.21 |
| Released June 2007 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.21 contains 48,600 terms, an increase of 1,788 since the December 2007 version. Approximately 2,250 terms have been edited. A total of 1,325 terms have been deprecated.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.20 |
| Released June 2007 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.20 contains 48,045. This was a limited release.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.19 |
| Released December 2006 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.19 contains 46,812, an increase of 1,270 since the June 2006 version. Approximately 12,750 terms have been edited. A total of 1,260 terms have been deprecated.
There are a couple of major changes in this release.
- The display of the major fields (component, property, system, scale & method) have been changed from upper case to mixed case for improved readability. The database is still case-insensitive.
- The system for a number of laboratory terms are changed for easier reading. For instance, "UR" is now "urine", "FLU" is now "Body fld", "PCAR" is now "Pericard fld".
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.18 |
| Released December 2006 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.18 contains 46,812 terms. This was a limited release.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.17 |
| Released June 2006 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.17 contains 45,542 terms, an increase of 3,043. Approximately 2,299 terms have been edited. A total of 1,220 terms have been deprecated.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.16 |
| Released December 2005 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.16 contains 42,499 terms, an increase of 1,776. Approximately 1,000 terms have been edited. A total of 1,095 terms have been deprecated.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.15 |
| Released June 2005 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.15 contains 40,723 terms, an increase of 2,415. Approximately 500 terms have been edited. A total of 1,076 terms have been deprecated.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.14 |
| Released December 2004 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.14 contains 38,308 terms, an increase of 2,640. New Radiology terms account for 2,226 of the new records. Approximately 1,800 terms have been edited. A total of 1,049 terms have been deprecated.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.13 |
| Released August 2004 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.13 contains 35,668 terms, an increase of 828. Approximately 1675 terms have been edited. A total of 1035 terms have been deprecated. This release does NOT include ~2200 radiology terms that have been created, but are still being developed.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.12 |
| Released February 2004 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.12 contains 34,840 terms. This is an increase of 1,146 since the October 2003 release. A total of 1012 terms have been deprecated (STATUS = DEL). Approximately 1300 terms have been edited.
A few new panel classes have been added to the database.
A new field, ORDER_OBS, has been added. This is used to define a term as order only, observation only, or both. A fourth category, Subset, is used for terms that are subsets of a panel but do not represent a package that is known to be orderable we have defined them only to make it easier to maintain panels or other sets within the LOINC construct.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.11 |
| Released January 2004 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.11 contains 33,694 terms. This was a limited release.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.10 |
| Released October 2003 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.10 contains 33,694 terms, an increase of 450. A total of 978 have been deprecated (STATUS = DEL). Approximately 600 terms have been edited.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.09 |
| Released May 2003 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.09 contains 33,694 terms, an increase of 1532. A total of 961 have been deprecated (STATUS = DEL).
The following new classes have been added to the database:
DENTAL
DOC.CLINRPT
DOC.REF
PATH.PROTOCOLS
Approximately 1800 terms have been edited since the release of version 2.07.
*********************** IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT ***********************
Since version 2, the LOINC database has been distributed in a Microsoft Access97 database. Microsoft ended most support for Access97 on August 31, 2001 and is dropping all remaining support on January 16, 2004. Therefore, we are beginning the process of converting from Access97 to Access2002. Within the next year or two LOINC and RELMA will be distributed in the new format.
If you just use the RELMA program, this change should be completely transparent. However, if you access the database directly or through some other program, this change may cause incompatibilities. We are hoping that by giving this advance notice, you will be able to avoid any problems. If you would like to discuss this issue with LOINC/RELMA developers, please e-mail LOINC@regenstrief.org
For more information on Microsoft life cycle support, go to:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;[ln];lifeOffice
*********************** IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT ***********************
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.08 |
| Released September 2002 |
+-------------------------- +
An additional 116 records were added to the database since the creation of version 2.07.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.07 |
| Released August 2002 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.07 contains 32,046 records, an increase of 1457 terms since the release of version 2.04. Of these, 921 have been deprecated (STATUS = DEL).
A new field called Shortname has been added. The fully specified LOINC name is long and sometimes awkward, so we don't envision it being used as the label for standard clinical reports and have rules for naming orderable results. Over the last 7 years we have had many requests for a universal "short name" that could be used in HL7 messages and, perhaps on delivered reports. In this release we include our first attempt at the developing of such short names. At this stage we have limited the scope of this effort to laboratory tests excluding challenge tests, which have particularly long names that can be difficult to squeeze into a specified limit. The LOINC committee recommended that the short name be no more than 30 characters in length. We have not quite made the limit in all cases and or still working to improve the meaningfulness and the fit of these LOINC short names. We recommend these names be sent along with the LOINC code and as the 2nd part of the HL7 CE data type in HL7 messages. These short names are unique, but they are subject to change as we develop better algorithms for generating short names.
The terms in the classes of DRUG and TOX have been moved to a new class DRUG/TOX. Terms in the classes of BC and HEM have been moved to a new class HEM/BC.
Approximately 6000 term have been edited since the release of version 2.04. This includes the terms that were moved to the new classes.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.06 |
| Released February 2002 |
+-------------------------- +
This was a special release of the database. No significant changes were made.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.05 |
| Released February 2002 |
+-------------------------- +
Since the release of LOINC version 2.04, 9 new terms have been added to the database and a few records have had minor edits.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.04 |
| Released January 2002 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC version 2.04 contains 30,589 records, an increase of 1267 terms. Of these 854 have been deprecated (STATUS = DEL).
A new field, RelatedNames2 has been added to the database. It contains synonyms for all parts of the fully specified LOINC name (component, property, time, system, scale, method). It may eventually replace #8, Relat_NMS. This is the field that is being used by RELMA 3.5.
A major revision of Allergy terms has been undertaken. In the past (prior to LOINC vs 2.04), we used the common name, rather than the scientific name to identify the allergen. However, this approach led to some duplicate term definitions, because two different companies would name the same allergen differently. It also led to ambiguity because two different species of animal or plant would some times have the same common name. This year we corrected these problems.
One new class, VACCIN, has been added to the database.
In addition to the creation of the RelatedNames2 field creation, more then 2800 records were edited since the release of version 2.03.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.03 |
| Released July 2001 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC:
LOINC version 2.03 contains 29,322 records, an increase of 628 terms. Of these 758 have been deprecated (STATUS = DEL).
A new field SUBMITTED_UNITS has been added to the database. It contains the units that submitters have sent to us when they request a new term. The terms in the existing EX_US_UNITS field has been standardized to more closely resemble those used in HL7 version 3.
The following new classes have been added to the database:
ATTACH.RESP
PANEL.ABXBACT
PANEL.TOX
EYE.VISUAL_FIELD
EYE.US
EYE.TONOMETRY
EYE.RETINAL_RX
EYE.REFRACTION
EYE.PX
EYE.GLASSES
EYE.CONTACT_LENS
EYE.HETEROPHORIA
More then 2500 records were edited since the release of version 2.00
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.01 |
| Released January 2001 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC:
Added missing fields to tab-delimited version; remove one field from the Access database version; removed a line break from one field in one record.
+---------------------------+
| Version 2.00 |
| Released January 2001 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC:
LOINC version 2.00 contains 28,694 records, an increase of 3902 terms. Of these 599 have been deprecated (STATUS = DEL).
New fields added to the LOINC database:
CSCQ_ITLN_NM Italian translation
CSCQ_GRMN_NM German translation
SPNSH_NM Spanish translation (for future use)
SURVEY_QUEST_TEXT for use with Survey domains
SURVEY_QUEST_SRC for use with Survey domains
UnitsRequired for use with Claims Attachments
Additions to the LOINC database:
Class N Comments
----- - -----------
ABXBACT 72 AFB susceptibility
ALLERGY 95
ATTACH 3
ATTACH.CARD 1
ATTACH.CLINRPT 42
ATTACH.ED 1
ATTACH.GI 1
ATTACH.LAB 6
ATTACH.OBS 1
ATTACH.REHAB.ABUS 44 new class
ATTACH.REHAB.CARDIAC 44 new class
ATTACH.REHAB.NURS 44 new class
ATTACH.REHAB.OT 44 new class
ATTACH.REHAB.PT 44 new class
ATTACH.REHAB.RT 44 new class
ATTACH.REHAB.SOCIAL 44 new class
ATTACH.REHAB.RESP 1 new class
BC 93 "methodless" counts
CELLMARK 38
CHAL 326
CHEM 688
COAG 22
CYTO 1
DRUG 48
ENDO.GI 20
FERT 2
HEM 13
HLA 2
MICRO 438
MOLPATH.MUT 2
MOLPATH.TRINUC 1
OPTHO 466 new class
RAD 348
SERO 39
SPEC 2
SURVEY.NURSE.HCC 26 new class
SURVEY.NURSE.HIV-SSC 26 new class
SURVEY.NURSE.LIV-HIV 37 new class
SURVEY.NURSE.OMAHA 40 new class
SURVEY.NURSE.QAM 11 new class
TOX 178
UA 14
New class type, 4, was added to represent SURVEY terms
Changes to Existing LOINC terms:
More then 1500 records were edited since the release of version 1.0O.
* added or edited related names, example units and/or example answer fields
* removed example units which do not correlate with the property (created new terms to correspond to the example units)
* for some tests that could be performed on either serum or plasma, the property of SER or PLAS was changed system to SER/PLAS
* standardized component names
* since it is implied that the system is from the patient, we removed ^PATIENT from for a number of terms (e.g. PPP^PATIENT becomes PPP)
* edited component format of challenge tests to ensure uniformity of the models
* edited property of numerous COAG terms to reflect what is actually being reported
* changed RUBEOLA VIRUS to MEASLES VIRUS to reflect official nomenclature
* changed PAPILLOMA VIRUS to HUMAN PAPILLOMA VIRUS to reflect official nomenclature
* changed SALMONELLA PARATYPHOID to SALMONELLA PARATYPHI to reflect official nomenclature
* changed U to UG to correct an obvious typographic error in FOLLITROPIN^POST LUTENIZING RELEASING HORMONE series.
* "polished-up" clinical and claims attachment terms
* added value of "TITER" to the EX_US_UNITS field for terms with property = TITR
* added value of "%" to the EX_US_UNITS field for terms with property = *FR (CFR, NFR, MFR, SFR, etc.)
Retired terms:
Fifty-nine(59)duplicate terms have been marked "DEL" in the STATUS field.
DOCUMENTATION:
The LOINC User's Guide has been updated to include the changes to the database. The RELMA Manual has been updated to reflect the current version of RELMA.
RELMA
Major changes have been made to the RELMA program.
There is a separate Release Notes document for RELMA.
+---------------------------+
| Version 1.0O |
| Released June 13, 2000 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC:
LOINC version 1.0O contains 24,730 records. Of these, 24,194 are active the other 536 have been deprecated (STATUS = DEL). This is an increase of 1034 new terms.
This version introduces the concept of order sets. These have the class of PANEL.xx and the word "PANEL" is in the component field. A new field added to the database called PanelElements contains a list of the individual tests that are associated with the order set.
Additions to the LOINC database:
Class N Comments
----- - -----------
ALLERGY 111
ATTACH 1
ATTACH.ED 2
BC 4
BLDBK 1
CELLMARK 4
CHAL 8
CHEM 101 including ~50 terms for lysosomal enzymes
COAG 10
DRUG 2
HEM 2
MICRO 275 16 veterinary terms
MOLPATH.MUT 3
PANEL.BC 6 Hematology blood count order sets
PANEL.CHEM 34 Chemistry order sets
PANEL.MICRO 5 Microbiology serology order sets
PANEL.OBS 1 Order set for obstetrics (more than one lab)
PANEL.SERO 1 Serology order set
PANEL.UA 4 Urinalysis order sets
RAD 512 this is a new class for radiological studies
SERO 20
SPEC 1
TOX 3
TUMRRGT 3
UA 1
US.ECHO 10
Changes to Existing LOINC terms:
One thousand, four hundred and sixty-three (1463) records were edited since the release of version 1.0N.
* Changed system "SER^PATIENT" was to "SER" for blood group antibodies to reflect the fact that the patient is the default.
* The method "FLOW CYTOMETRY" was changed to "FC" to ensure consistency of methods.
* Related names were added to numerous records.
* For CD markers, "LYMPHOCYTES" was changed to "CELLS". This was done to reflect the fact that the markers are not always found on lymphocytes.
* Corrected numerous spelling errors.
* Standardized terminology for property, system, method.
* Edited some terms that were actually synonyms of other components.
* Minor name changes include removing spaces and adding dots (.).
* System was changed for many clinical terms.
Retired terms:
Fifty-three (53) duplicate terms have been marked "DEL" in the STATUS field.
DOCUMENTATION:
The LOINC User's Guide has been updated to include the changes to the database. The RELMA Manual has been updated to reflect the current version of RELMA.
RELMA:
Version 2.1 Release date: June 13, 2000
1. The LOINC detail screen (available by right clicking in the mapping
grid) now uses a tabbed dialog format.
2. Corrected a problem that caused duplicate entries in the KEYWORD
table when a term had an ACS_synonym that was also a part of the LOINC
name.
3. The grid on mapping screen has been modified to display parts of the
LOINC name in separate columns. Both the column width and row height are
adjustable.
4. The grid on the mapping screen can be sorted by "clicking" on the
header row of any column. The fist click will sort the data in ascending
order, subsequent clicks will toggle the sorting between ascending and
descending order.
5. The tab order of the fields on the MAP screen has been corrected to
the more standard left-to-right top-to-bottom order.
6. The new "Size Grd" button on the mapping screen will automatically
size the results grid so that all text will be displayed. Note - this
process can be time consuming if there are more than several hundred
rows to size.
7. The mapping function now has the optional capability of limiting
search results to LOINC codes that are compatible with the units field
of the LMOF. To utilize this function you must include UNITS when
importing your local code set into the LMOF table. See the RELMA user
manual for addition details.
+---------------------------+
| Version 1.0N |
| Released February 4, 2000 |
+-------------------------- +
LOINC:
LOINC version 1.0N contains 23,614 records. Of these, 23,160 are active the other 454 have been deprecated (STATUS = DEL). This is an increase of 1863 new terms.
Additions to the LOINC database:
Class N Comments
----- - -----------
ABXBACT 46 includes 4 new antibiotics, 27 terms with method of AFB and 12 "methodless" codes
ALLERGY 25
BC 9
CHAL 19 xylose challenge
CHEM 133 Includes SCNC for existing components and veterinary terms
COAG 1
DRUG 7 Includes SCNC for existing component
DRUGDOSE 3 2 codes added for ESRD;
HEM 15
HLA 1
MICRO 1531 Includes 543 "methodless" antibody codes and 953 veterinary terms
SERO 8
TOX 47
TUMRRGT 5 PATH REPORT terms
Changes to Existing LOINC terms:
Nine hundred and fifty five (955) records were edited since the release of version 1.0M.
* Class type was changed from "3" to "1" for 55 terms.
* Related names were added to a number of terms.
* The abbreviation "HR" was changed to "H" to represent "hours" in the component field to make all terms consistent.
* The component name mammotropin was changed to prolactin to reflect the commonly used name.
* Chlamydia pneumoniae and Chlamydia psittaci were changed to the Chlamydophila pneumoniae and Chlamydophila psittaci, respectively, to reflect the current official nomenclature. Chlamydia was added to the related names field.
Retired terms:
Twenty-three (23) duplicate terms have been marked "DEL" in the STATUS field.
DOCUMENTATION:
This release has documentation only in Microsoft Word and Adobe PDF formats. No significant changes have been made to either the LOINC User's Guide or the RELMA Manual. Updated documentation will be available in the next release.
RELMA:
Version 2.0 Release date: February 4, 2000
1. Problems corrected from version 1.21
1.1 Corrected a problem where certain combinations of CLASS and SUBCLASS restrictions erroneously returned "No Match" when there did exist records that met the search criteria.
1.2 Corrected a problem that caused error messages when printing under certain conditions.
2. Significant changes to program:
2.1. The program was ported from 16-bit Visual Basic version 4 to 32 bit Visual basic 6.0. As a result RELMA will no longer install or run under Windows 3.1.
2.2. The underlying MS Access databases used by RELMA have been converted from MS Access 2.0 to MSAccess97. You can no longer use Access 2.0 to view or modify the RELMA databases.
2.3. The setup program now uses the Microsoft CAB style setup files. Additionally, the LOINC database, LOINCACS.MDB is no longer stored as a separate ZIP file within the setup files. Instead, it is compressed as part of the CAB file. Therefore, the PKUNZIP utility is no longer supplied with the distribution. As part of the installation process one or more VB 6 specific Dynamic Link Libraries (DLL) may need to be installed on your machine. Installing these DLLs will require a reboot of the machine and should be considered a normal part of the installation process.
3. New features in the 32-bit version:
3.1 The program has a new icon.
3.2. The mapping screen is now scalable.
3.3. The "/" forward slash character is now treated a special delimiter and is replaced by a SPACE for indexing and keyword search operations. This corrects a problem in version 1.21 where the keyword SER would not return records with a system of SER/PLAS.
3.4. After clicking the Clear All button the cursor is now automatically placed in the 1st keyword text box.
3.5. The access key for the "Clear All" button on the "LOINC Input Form" form has been changed from ALT+C to ALT+A to remove the conflict with the access key for the "Find Local Code" button.
4. Instructions to run on 16 bit version using database in Access 2.0:
4.1. Find Database folder on CD and select the file LOINCV2 and copy.
4.2. Locate directory where RELMA is installed and paste LOINCV2 into this folder.
4.3. Rename LOINCV2 to LOINCACS.
4.4. Run RELMA by double clicking on RELMA.EXE Program will run, but warn user that "latest database version is not found." Click "OK" on the dialog box and program should proceed to main menu form. The number of LOINC codes should appear at the top of the form in parenthesis.
4.5. WARNING: Do not use the 32-bit version of database with RELMA version 1.21 or less. The 16-bit version of Access is supplied as a bridge for Microsoft Windows 3.1 users. We advise loading the 32-bit version of RELMA.
ADOBE ACROBAT:
This CD contains the Adobe Acrobat4.0 reader. To install the reader, simply run the program ACRD4ENU.EXE (located in the Acrobat directory) and follow the instruction that appear on your screen. The reader is also available, free of charge, at www.adobe.com.
+-------------------+
| Version 1.0Ma |
| Released 08/06/99 |
+------------------ +
LOINC:
LOINC Version 1.0Ma contains 21,741 records. Of these, 452 are "retired" (STATUS=DEL) and 21,290 are active. This is an increase of 1,890 total terms and 1,866 active terms from LOINC 1.0L. As usual we have added new terms across a wide range of laboratory classes. This release includes our first batch of molecular genetic terms (more than 200), LOINC variables developed in collaboration with NAACCR for tumor registry, and terms developed in collaboration with HL7 Attachment SIG for electronic claims attachments.
We apologize for a number of errors in the release of version M we sent you early in July and to anyone who received copies of this data. The Word version of the user's guide had formatting errors due to a last minute (and un-noticed) conversion from one version of Word to another. We have corrected this error. More than 20 records contained fields with embedded CR/LF characters. These would not be a problem to users of the ACCESS database, but would cause problems to most applications that import the ASCII tab delimited file into another
data base. We have removed the offending CR/LFs. A few records did not have the right class designators and a number of Attachment records did not get the new LOINC class type designator of 3 so you would not find them if you restricted your search to the Attachment class type. Finally, the word index for the release of RELMA was not sorted properly before it was installed. Hence the list of matching options would not appear in alpha order by component, property, timing, system, etc, as it had in the past. These are all corrected in this
"re-release" which we are calling Version 1.0Ma.
This version includes the first release of any terms dedicated solely to Claims attachments. There are a few known minor imperfections in the naming of some of these Attachment terms. Because documents containing these minor problems are already working their way through a release of proposed federal regulations, we thought it better to deal with these when we receive comments about the proposed regulations to avoid differences the LOINC data base and the documents that are undergoing review.
DOCUMENTATION:
This is the last release that will include documentation in Wordperfect format. In the future, documentation will be provided in Microsoft Word and Adobe PDF formats.
RELMA:
Some users complained that the local description text box did not enable to view a complete description when it was longer than would fit in the text box. The user can now move the cursor to this field, double-click it, and a popup window shows the full local code description.
Known problems with RELMA
1. Applying a "Class Restriction" with no "Sub Restriction" will cause an erroneous "no Match" error. To avoid this behavior, always specify a "Sub Restriction" when using the "Class Restriction." This problem will be corrected in the next release.
2. In some situations, using a "Sub Restriction" will not properly limit the search results to the specified class. This problem will be corrected in the next release.
+-------------------+
| Version 1.0M |
| Released 07/23/99 |
+------------------ +
LOINC Version 1.0M contains 21,741 records. Of these, 452 are "retired" (STATUS=DEL) and 21,290 are active. This is an increase of 1,890 total terms and 1,866 active terms from LOINC 1.0L. As usual we have added new terms across a wide range of laboratory classes. This release includes our first batch of molecular genetic terms (more than 200), LOINC variables developed in collaboration with NAACCR for tumor registry, and terms developed in collaboration with HL7 Attachment SIG for electronic claims attachments.
Some users complained that the local description text box did not enable to view a complete description when it was longer than would fit in the text box. The user can now move the cursor to this field, double-click it, and a popup window shows the full local code description.
+-------------------+
| Version 1.0L |
| Released 02/12/99 |
+------------------ +
LOINC Version 1.0L contains 19,849 records. Of these, 424 are "retired" (STATUS=DEL) and 19,425 are active. This is an increase of 4,386 total terms and 4,214 active terms from LOINC 1.0K.
Additions and Changes to Database
ABXBACT
For 146 existing antimicrobials, a methodless term has been added, of the form ANTIMICROBIAL "X":SUSC:PT:ISLT:
ORDQN.
19 terms added for acid fast and topical susceptibilities.
ALLERGY
665 added terms, of which 579 represent a new subset of terms to report "Rast Classes" (an ordinal measure of allergen IGe response ranging from zero to six). These are of the form "ALLERGEN" AB.IGE.RAST CLASS:ACNC:PT:SER:ORD.
BC
38 new terms, largely already-represented cell types and fractions on new systems (synovial fluid, amniotic fluid, CSF, unspecified fluid).
BLDBK
9 new terms.
CELLMARK
153 new terms of the type LYMPHOCYTES.CDn and LYMPHOCYTES.CDn/100 LYMPHOCYTES, either existing markers on FLU (instead of BLD) or newmarkers on BLD.
144 terms specified as "CDn:ACNC:PT:WBC:QN" retired because they were incorrect. Most have direct replacements among terms with syntax"LYMPHOCYTES.CDn:NCNC" or "LYMPHOCYTES.CDn/100 LYMPHOCYTES:NFR".
CHAL
175 new terms; many of these enable the reporting of sequential specimens (e.g., "ANALYTE"^NTH SPECIMEN POST...) and unspecified challenges (e.g., "ANALYTE^POST XXX CHALLENGE").
CHEM
511 new terms. Additions include new specimens on existing analytes(mainly UR, both point and timed, FLU, PLR, and VITF (vitreous fluid)); SCNC versions of MCNC measures; enzymes on RBCs, the addition of BLDMV (mixed venous blood) in blood gas measures; tumor markers on PLR and AMN; proteins and protein fractions (albumin, globulins, etc.) on UR and FLU; MCNC electrolyte measures.
COAG
16 new terms, mostly method differentiations.
CYTO
19 new terms, including 11 terms to transmit Pap smear results according to the Bethesda system.
DRUG
300 new terms, largely existing analytes on new systems (UR and FLU).
EKG
This is a new class, with 76 terms to represent standard measures from EKG carts.
HEM
31 new terms, including new hemoglobin subtypes and new systems for deoxyhemoglobin.
MICRO
559 new terms. Additions includes new systems (CSF, FLU) on existing microorganisms, new culture types for "MICROORGANISM IDENTIFIED" terms (e.g., catheter tip culture, blood aerobic culture, acute respiratory distress culture, new systems for MICROSCOPIC OBSERVATIONS, including various fine needle aspirates; method differentiations (CF, LA).
PULM
New class, containing 338 terms describing ventilator management.
SERO
141 new terms. New methods on SER (IF, RODENT SUBSTRATE) ; new systems (FLU); ORD measures for which we previously had only QN.
SPEC
This is a new class to which we have moved the terms having to do with characteristics of specimens such as volume, mass, collection date/time, etc. 17 new terms.
TOX
628 new terms. This includes a systematically generated group of 340 new terms to flesh out drug-of-abuse screen and confirm reporting, including information on variable cutoff thresholds. This system is explained more completely in the LOINC Users' Guide. The other additions include new specimens (FLU, TISS, VITF, AMN, FOOD, MILK) and timed urine specimens for various occupational and environmental toxins such as acetone, mercury, manganese, etc.
US.ECHO
New class, containing 410 terms, for recording cardiac echo measurements.
Four new fields have been added to the LOINC database, and some previously included fields have been removed or altered. A full list is provided below; those fields which have been changed are marked with an asterisk. For the first time in this release, some fields are defined as type "Memo" -- this is a Microsoft Database field type which allows variable length up to 32,000 characters.
1 LOINC_NUM
2 COMPONENT
3 PROPERTY
4 TIME_ASPCT
5 SYSTEM
6 SCALE_TYP
7 METHOD_TYP
8 RELAT_NMS
9 CLASS
10 SOURCE
11 EUCLIDE_CD
12 ASTM_CD
13 IUPAC_CD
14 DT_LAST_CH
15 CHNG_REAS
16 CHNG_TYPE
17 COMMENTS
*18 ANSWERLIST Memo -- (was Char/254)
19 STATUS
20 MAP_TO
*21 SCOPE Char 20 (was length 254)
22 SNOWMED_CD
23 VA_CD
24 METPATH_CD
25 HCFA_CD
26 CDC_CD
27 NORM_RANGE
28 EX_US_UNITS
29 IPCC_UNITS
*30 GPI_CD Char 100 (was length 11 -- contents of GPI_CD
TOT moved to this field and GPI_CD_TOT
removed)
* GPI_CD_TOT Removed
*31 REFERENCE Memo -- (was Char/254)
*32 EXACT_CMP_SY Char 50 (was length 254)
33 MOLAR_MASS
34 IUPC_ANLT_CD
* ANSWERLST2 Removed
* ANSWERLST3 Removed
35 CLASSTYPE
36 FORMULA
37 MULTUM_CD
38 DEEDS_CD
*39 CSCQ_FRNCH_NM Char 100 (was length 255)
40 SPECIES
41
(new fields)
*42 ACSSYM Memo -- Chemical name synonyms, alternative
name synonyms, and chemical formulae
supplied by the Chemical Abstract
Society Synonyms derived from the
American Chemical Society database
*43 MOLEID Char 15 Molecular structure ID, usually CAS
number
*44 BASE_NAME Char 50 Chemical base name from CAS
*45 FINAL Char 1 Internal LOINC Use only
RELMA Updates
Despite the more than 4000 new records in the LOINC database and the even larger increase in the word index (which now contains almost 315,000 entries, one for each unique word and LOINC number), we have shrunk the size of the RELMA package (now 68 megabytes) and improved the lookup speed considerably. This is due in part to more specificity in the inclusion of index words in the word index file. We take pains to enter a word only once in the word index for a given record, no matter how many times it might be repeated in the indexable records. We have also used a special mechanism for indexing words found in the ACM synonym list, which is very extensive and includes a host of brand names, even for non-drug products that contain substances that are included in LOINC test names. For example, Warfarin is a component of a variety of rodent poisons, and brand
names for those poisons are included in the ACS synonym list.
We have always translated special characters such as "^", "/" and "." that may be found in the LOINC names into blanks for the purpose of the indexing and searching within RELMA. The only exception is that we keep decimal points that are parts of a decimal number. E.g., we do not convert "5.6" into "5 6". We may have had an error in this process in past releases, such that some slashes were retained, with the effect that a few phrases may not have been separated into single words for indexing purposes. The downside of our removing these special characters is that they do not appear in the list of matched LOINC records. (They will appear when you do a look up on the specific terms because that goes directly to the original LOINC field.)
Though we believe we do not now include the same word more than once in the index for a given LOINC record, you can do a search and find the same LOINC record represented more than once in the list of LOINC record matches. This should only occur with some wild card searches. For example, a searched for "AB*" would find a match with "Abalone" and "AB". So you may have duplicate records in the table of matches. You can eliminate such duplicates by pressing the dup button on the RELMA mapping screen.
The items in the list of potential matches will now be sorted alphabetically by LOINC name, this will make it easier to visually find a particular term when the list of matches is long.
LOINC User's Guide
We have made a number of changes to the LOINC manual explaining our approach to some naming more fully (especially to toxicology naming), adding terms to tables and correcting small errors. Katherine Mercer from Laboratory Services, Ontario Ministry of Health, has been especially helpful with her careful reading and
suggestions for edits. Also, she noted a number of examples that are not now reflective of real terms in the database.
We appreciate everyone's patience on the slow gestation of this version. In the next release we hope to have a good starting set of terms for molecular pathology testing, a beginning on test order sets, terminology needed for tumor registry reporting, and an expanded set of terms required for testing in veterinary medicine.
+-------------------+
| Version 1.0K |
| Released 05/01/98 |
+------------------ +
LOINC Version 1.0K contains 15,464 records. Of these, 253 are
"retired" (STATUS=DEL) and 15,211 are active. This is an increase of
1,999 total terms and 1,881 active terms from LOINC 1.0J-a
Additions Summary
Class N Description
----- - -----------
ALLERGY 81 "Allerscan" multidisks and single terms for
allergens included in multidisks that were not
already represented in LOINC
BC 53 Cell types per hundred leukocytes
BLDBK 42 Terms added to correctly represent certain blood
groups not characterized by presence of antigens
CELLMARK 36 Abnormal blood cell fractions; blasts fractions;
CD lymphocytes
CHAL 75 Mostly new hormone challenges
CHEM 752 Many additional terms for previously unrepresented
specimens (UR, CSF, PLR, PRT, DIAF, SNV, AMN)
DRUG 153 Substance concentrations
HEM 55 Manual counts; complements
MICRO 249 New methods for serological tests and microscopic
observations; viruses such as mumps and rubeola on
large variety of specimens
SERO 85
TOX 138 Drugs of abuse screens and confirms; non-drug toxins
in new specimens.
URO.US 50 Clinical terms for ultrasound measurements in
urology.
VET 78 Microbiology terms used in veterinary medicine
With this release of LOINC, we have begun representing results used by the veterinary medicine community. These first terms represent microbiology results for antibodies and antigens to bacteria and viruses which are important infectious agents in commercial livestock. In future releases, we will also include chemistry tests for non-human species. To accommodate this expansion of the database, we have also added a new field (SPECIES) which contains codes reporting which animal species the term relates to. If the field is blank, "human" is to be assumed the relevant species.
Three new fields have been added to the LOINC database, as described below
42 CSCQ_FRNCH_NM Char 255 French name for LOINC term. Supplied by
Centre Suisse de Controle de Qualite.
This field contains extended characters
and will not transfer correctly to 7-bit
systems
43 SPECIES Char 20 Codes detailing which non-human species
the term applies to. If blank, "human" is
assumed.
44 EXAMPL_ANSWERS Char 50 For some tests and measurements, we have
supplied examples of valid answers, such
as "1:64", "negative @ 1:16", or "55".
This differs from the ANSWERLIST field,
which details possible choices for
nominal scale terms.
Changes to existing LOINC terms
Changes to Component/Analyte Field
Trailing .TOTAL has been removed from Laboratory LOINC terms except when occurring in denominator of a fraction (e.g., ALBUMIN/PROTEIN.TOTAL)
Leading "PROTEIN." removed, e.g., PROTEIN.PREALBUMIN becomes PREALBUMIN
Leading "LIPIDS." Removed, e.g., LIPIDS.TRIGLYCERIDE becomes TRIGLYCERIDE
CHORIONIC GONADOTROPIN changed to CHORIOGONADOTROPIN (previously, both variants existed in database)
D- and L- changed to dextro- and levo-; D- and L- added to RELAT_NMS
Variants like "SPECIMEN 1" and "FIRST SPECIMEN" changed to "1ST SPECIMEN" and so on for other numbers. Also, ACUTE and CONVALESCENT changed to 1st SPECIMEN and 2nd SPECIMEN, Acute and Convalescent added to RELAT_NMS
Corrected delimiters (some terms had .SUPINE rather than ^SUPINE, etc.)
The formal names of Vitamin D varieties were corrected to correspond to the more familiar numbered name which appeared in the related names field: Cholecalciferol instead of calciferol; calciferol instead of
ergocalciferol, and a term was added for ergosterol, which was missing from the database.
Changed "COCAINE" to "BENZOYLCOGONINE" and "CANNABINOIDS" to "TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL" for all specimens other
than BLD, SER/PLAS, and USUB, since cocaine/cannabinoids are detectable only in those specimens.
Added denominators of xFRs where previously omitted, especially electrophoresis fractions and METHMOGLOBIN.
"SPERM" changed to "SPERMATOZOA"; SPERM added to RELAT_NMS
Added "SP" to micro tests that detect genera, not individual species.
Changed storage mite ab terms so that Latin name is component and storage mite is in related names. Also corrected spelling of Tyrophagus putrescentiae.
"Q WAVE" replaces "Q-WAVE"
A,B AB and AG Previously, blood bank tests for antibodies/antigens to both A and B were named AB AB and AB AG, which was ambiguous and confusing). These are now called A.B AB and A.B AG.
Standardized virus names so that they are all of the form
<name> VIRUS <subtype (w/out words like TYPE,SEROGROUP,etc)><modifier> <{AB,AG,DNA}> . <Igx>
e.g., HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUS 2 AB
EPSTEIN BARR VIRUS CAPSID AB.IGG
Reconciled spelling of
Gamma glutamyl transferase
Xanthochromia
Squamous
6-monoacetylmorphine
various gangliosides
Epstein Barr
Amino beta guanidinopropionate
Changes to other major parts of name
Some SER and PLAS terms standardized to SER/PLAS;resulting duplicates retired
PCR/PROBE changed to PROBE.AMP.TAR; DNA PROBE changed to PROBE
xCNC and xFR corrected to reflect xCNT for solid specimens
Property NARIC has been added for cell counts per HPF and LPF.
"SAMHSA" removed from method field for specimens other than UR and SER, since only these two specimens are approved for SAMHSA testing.
Several varieties of "date", "date/time" etc standardized to property TMSTP
There has also been a universal change to the SCALE field : Because there has been so much confusion about the appropriate use of QL and SQ, we are changing these codes to more closely correspond to a "common sense" knowledge of these distinctions. In this release of LOINC, QL is replaced by NOM (for nominal), SQ is replaced by ORD (for ordinal) and SQN is replaced by ORDQN. There is also an expanded discussion of the SCALE field, including examples, in the revised version of the Users' Guide, dated April 1998.
Terms retired:
107 terms have been marked "DEL" in the STATUS field, meaning they should no longer be used. Three were incorrect or nonexistent blood bank tests for which no corresponding correct term or concept could be identified; the remaining 104 were either duplicates of existing terms or erroneous terms for which new correct terms were constructed; these terms are mapped to the correct replacement terms in the MAP_TO field.
+------------------+
| Version 1.0J-a |
| Released 10/9/97 |
+----------------- +
(Version 1.0J was circulated briefly with a release of RELMA but never as a stand-alone database. Version 1.0J-a is a slight modification of 1.0J, which corrects a few errors in the database.)
Release 1.0J-a of the LOINC database contains 13,465 terms, including 2,613 terms new in this release.
Class Changes/Additions
----- -----------------
ABXBACT Precision of agar diffusion and MIC changed to SQN to
accommodate both semiquantitative and quantitative
reporting.
ALLERGY Added 110 new IgE antibody terms for allergens.
BC Added 80 terms, including many terms for cells found in
bone marrow, cerebrospinal fluid, and other non-blood
specimens, and terms for cell morphology.
CELLMARK Added: 19 new terms
CHAL Added 279 new terms, including many new terms for recording
unspecified challenges.
CHEM Added 433 new terms, including terms for many analytes in
amniotic fluid, peritoneal dialysis fluid, and unspecified
body fluid.
DRUG Added 219 new terms.
ED Added: 190 new terms adopted from CDC DEEDS (Data Elements
FUNCTION for Emergency Department Systems) data dictionary for
H&P.HX recording emergency department variables.
HEM Added: 18 new terms
HLA Added: 15 new terms
MICRO Added: 318 new terms, including non-method specific terms
for many antibody tests.
OB.US Added: Completely new class containing 558 terms to
describe measurements and observations taken during
obstetric ultrasound examination.
SERO Added: 102 new terms, including non-method specific terms
for many antibody tests.
TOX Added: 123 new terms, including both new analytes in serum
and/or urine, and specimens such as hair, nails, meconium,
and vitreous fluid.
Changes in the database structure
Four new fields have been added to the database:
CLASSTYPE
With the merging of the laboratory and clinical databases in the last release, we perceived a need to easily separate the database into these two groups. Thus we assigned a new variable, CLASSTYPE, which equals "1" if the terms is in a LAB class and "2" if it is in a CLINIC class.
FORMULA
Many of the OB.US (obstetric ultrasound) terms are calculations based on regression formulae published in the clinical literature. We added the FORMULA field to store the details of these regression equations.
MULTUM_CD
Multum Inc. produces a database of codes for drugs, similar to the Medispan codes which are already included in the LOINC database. Multum has graciously provided us with a map between their drug code values and the drug terms included in the LOINC database. We added this field to store those values.
DEEDS_CD
The CDC has developed a data dictionary listing terms relevant to emergency department care and has assigned code values to those terms. This field contains the DEEDS code value which maps to the LOINC code in question.
A complete listing of the field locations, sizes, and types follows.
Position Name Type Size
1 LOINC_NUM Text 7
2 COMPONENT Text 150
3 PROPERTY Text 10
4 TIME_ASPCT Text 10
5 SYSTEM Text 50
6 SCALE_TYP Text 30
7 METHOD_TYP Text 50
8 RELAT_NMS Text 254
9 CLASS Text 20
10 SOURCE Text 8
11 EUCLIDE_CD Text 10
12 ASTM_CD Text 9
13 IUPAC_CD Text 8
14 DT_LAST_CH Text 8
15 CHNG_REAS Text 254
16 CHNG_TYPE Text 3
17 COMMENTS Text 254
18 ANSWERLIST Text 254
19 STATUS Text 3
20 MAP_TO Text 7
21 SCOPE Text 254
22 SNOWMED_CD Text 10
23 VA_CD Text 8
24 METPATH_CD Text 10
25 HCFA_CD Text 12
26 CDC_CD Text 6
27 NORM_RANGE Text 30
28 EX_US_UNIT Text 30
29 IPCC_UNITS Text 30
30 GPI_CD Text 11
31 GPI_CD_TOT Text 254
32 REFERENCE Text 254
33 EXACT_CMP_SY Text 254
34 MOLAR_MASS Text 13
35 IUPC_ANLT_CD Text 13
36 ANSWERLIST2 Text 254
37 ANSWERLIST3 Text 254
38 CLASSTYPE Integer 2
39 FORMULA Text 255
40 MULTUM_CD Text 6
41 DEEDS_CD Text 7
Changes to RELMA
There have been numerous changes to the RELMA program since the last documented version (0.96 Beta). Some of the changes are "visible" to the user (e.g., new program options) while others are not (e.g., changes in data organization, speed improvements, etc.). The most obvious change is in the size of the database itself. There are now over 13,400 LOINC terms in the database with more than 7,600 keywords and 170,000 searchable components. Despite the increased database size, most searches are completed in less than a second on a Pentium machine. These improvements come at a cost, however. The disk space required by RELMA has increased to almost 70M, of which over 65M is just for the database. Some of the major highlights in this release include the following.
The LMOF (Local Master Observation File) table has been split out from the LOINCACS.MDB database into its own database file (LMOF.MDB). This was done to make updating the LOINC database safer and easier for the user.
The routine for importing local numbers and descriptions is more flexible.
Searches can be restricted by class (e.g., Lab or Clinic) and subclasses (e.g., CHEM, CHAL, etc.).
Keywords for searching the database can be automatically toggled.
Persistent keywords: If the user types in a keyword in any of the last three keyword boxes (keyword boxes 8, 9, and 10), these keywords do not disappear as the user moves from one local code to the next.
Easier access to LOINC details: A left-mouse click now highlights a row in the grid box and a right-mouse click then causes details for the highlighted LOINC number to be presented.
Duplicate removal: When wildcard searches are done, it is possible for duplicate LOINC numbers to be presented. A new button removes these duplicates and sorts the output by description. Clicking on the "No Dups" button when there are no duplicates still sorts the grid box output by description, which may be useful
to the user.
Double-click mapping: Once a LOINC a term is highlighted in the grid box, double-clicking immediately maps the highlighted LOINC term to the local code. This speeds up the mapping process considerably compared to earlier versions of RELMA.
New program options: One option permits the user to output the content of the LMOF table to an ASCII file. A second option allows the user to read the ASCII file back into the LMOF table.
New report options: You can sort the output of various reports. In most cases, you can elect to have the output ordered by: 1) physical file order, 2) LOINC number, 3) LOINC description, 4) local code number, or 5) local description.
Speed improvements: The data structures have been changed to reduce database search times.
+-------------------+
| Version 1.0i |
| Released 01/08/97 |
+-------------------+
In release 1.0i, we have added 1,040 records in the areas ofsurgical pathology, immune stains, microbiology, blood banking,fertility, and others. A new class, SURGPATH, has been created torepresent surgical pathology terms. The Users' Guide has beenupdated to reflect the many changes that have taken place sinceApril 1996, including the recent release of the Clinical LOINC database.
Important: The syntax representing observations made on an entity other than the patient has been changed. The SYSTEM_TYP field may now contain a modifier delimited with the "^" character. This change may require some users to modify the procedures they have developed to import or parse LOINC terms into their data applications. Please consult Section 2.5.1 of the new Users' Guide for more information on this change.
+-------------------+
| Clinical LOINC |
| Version 1.0 |
| Released 12/03/96 |
+-------------------+
The first release of Clinical LOINC contains 1,492 observations and 37 fields. The first 35 fields are identical to the fields available in Laboratory LOINC; fields 36 and 37 (ANSWERLST2 and ANSWERLST3) provide an overflow for ANSWERLIST values that exceed the 254 characters allowable in FoxPro dBase and Microsoft Excel files.
+-------------------+
| Version 1.0h(2) |
| Released 08/29/96 |
+-------------------+
LOINC News: In July 1996, the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) endorsed LOINC and is now recommending that all of its member report laboratory results using LOINC codes. The 40+ members of the ACLA account for approximately 70% of the volume of tests performed in the United States. Also, ICD10 PCS codes for HCFA are being now constructed based on LOINC terms. Finally, Ontario, Canada is very interested in the use of LOINC codes for province-wide laboratory result reporting.
Corrections to existing terms
SUPER Convention: Previously we used "LITTLE" in the
component/analyte name to indicate that the following
alphabetic character is lower case in the official name. In
this release we similarly employ the word "SUPER" to
indicate that the following character is a superscript
according to official nomenclature.
Blood bank: The parentheses included in the names of blood
bank antigens were mostly unnecessary. They should not have
been included according to our naming rules for specifying
lower case alphabetic terms (LITTLE) unless, as in a few
cases, the lowercase letter is enclosed by parentheses in
the formal name. These have been corrected in this release.
Changes to standard report format: We have changed the content of the printable (WordPerfect and Word) LOINC reports in the following ways:
The ASTM Code, IUPAC Code, MetPath Code, and Comments columns are no longer displayed. They are still maintained in the database, they are just not printed on the word processing reports. Columns representing the Exact Core Component Synonym, Change Reason, IUPAC Analyte Code, and Molar Mass have been added to the report. (The Exact Core Component Synonym, IUPAC Analyte Code, and Molar Mass fields are new to LOINC with Release 1.0h -- see Section 4 for a description.) We stress that this is a change to the printed reports only; we have not and never will change the order of the fields in the database itself (in either the tab-delimited ASCII "LOINDBT1.TXT" or the dBase "LOINC.DBF" formats).
The order of the columns on the reports is now:
Status
Class
Loinc Number
Map To
Analyte/Component Name
Type of Property
Time Aspect
System/Specimen
Type of Scale
Method
Related Names
Exact Core Component Synonym
Date Last Changed
Reason for Change
Answer List
EUCLIDES Code
IUPAC Analyte Code
Molar Mass
New data fields: 3 new fields have been added and populated with
data for many observations:
Field # Field Name Type Width
33 XCT_CMP_SY C 254
34 MOLAR_MASS C 13
35 IUP_ANL_CD C 13
Field 33: Exact core component synonym: This field contains
an exact synonym for the "core component" of the LOINC
component name. We have included the mixed case and
"superscript" form of blood bank and HLA antigens (e.g.,
Lua) here to make it easier for automatic matching programs.
As there is no ASCII character for superscript letters, we
use the hat (^) to signify that the next character is a
superscript in these exact synonyms. (E.g., if the core
component is represented as L LITTLE U LITTLE SUPER A in the
LOINC component/analyte name field, it is represented in the
Exact Core Synonym field as Lu^a.) In a future release we
will add more exact synonyms for the core components.
Field 34: Molecular weights: This field contains the
molecular weights of many chemical moieties when they are
provided to us. Those added in this release were kindly
contributed by IUPAC.
Field 35: IUPAC analyte code: This field contains the
Chemical Abstract service number or the Enzyme Nomenclature
number for the chemical components for chemicals and/or
enzymes. These were also contributed by IUPAC.
New observations: We have added 1,559 terms in the following areas:
Susceptibilities based on antibiotic gradient strips
(E-tests):We have added observations to represent each of
the antibiotics for which susceptibilities can be performed
via antibiotic gradient strips.
Allergen testing: serum IGE and basophil bound antibodies:
We have significantly enlarged the set of serum IGE allergen
tests, and have added a large number of tests for basophil
bound antibodies to specific allergens using the leukocyte
histamine release method. This test may be more clinically
predictive than the serum based IGE allergen tests. Most of
these allergen test terms were contributed by Lab Corp and
Corning MetPath.
We edited the allergen names so that the part of the name
that corresponds most closely to the genus comes first, the
species comes next, and finer specification comes last. So
an IGE AB against Live Oak would be listed as OAK LIVE
AB.IGE. The IGE AB against Interior Live Oak would be listed
OAK LIVE INTERIOR AB.IGE. If the allergen came from a
particular part of the tree (e.g., bark) it would be OAK
LIVE INTERIOR BARK AB.IGE. (Of course, common names do not
always align well with the corresponding scientific name.)
In the future, we will work toward including the Latin
scientific name for each of the species represented in these
allergen tests in the exact component synonym field.
Microbiology expansion: We have added many terms to the
microbiology section to deal with exotic infections,
antigens and antibodies against more specific subspecies
(especially for viruses), and scattered IGM and IGG
measures. Some of these additions were made in response to
the CDCs communicable disease electronic reporting project,
with which we are cooperating.
Lymphocyte bound CD antigens: Corning MetPath contributed
approximately 40 new terms for reporting levels and ratios
of lymphocyte bound CD antigens.
New "Type of Scale" Level: We have introduced a new category for Type of Scale. The new category, "SQN,"
applies to results that can be reported as either QN or SQ scales.
+-------------------+
| Version 1.0g |
| Released 04/28/96 |
+-------------------+
Approximately 100 new terms added in a variety of areas. Drug terms linked to Medispan 10-digit GPI codes where available in new field GPI_CD. Drugs with multiple GPI entries are linked in GPI_CD_TOTAL. New field REFERENCE contains references to textbook, journal, or other source which provided information about term.
Beginning with Version 1.0g, LOINC is available in DBF format. This format is distributed as LOINCDBF.EXE, a self-extracting file containing the DBF, accompanying CDX, and a read.me file.
+-------------------+
| Version 1.0f |
| Released 12/21/95 |
+-------------------+
Classes VIRO, PROBE, BACT, and SERO terms for infections agents reclassified as MICRO (microbiology). Approximately XXX new microbiology terms added. Corrections to properties, IUPAC codes, and EUCLIDES codes. Link to MetPath codes corrected. Word and WordPerfect versions of database rearranged to show MetPath code links and make identification of deleted terms easier. Variable order changed in tab-delimited database. Changes documented in new release of Users' Guide.
+-------------------+
| Version 1.0e |
| Released 09/15/95 |
+-------------------+
About 25 corrections to properties to correspond to IUPAC usage. Term 6300-8 added for glucose in amniotic fluid. Nomenclature of parts of name changed to conform more closely to IUPAC: measure = component/analyte; timing = time aspect; specimen = system/sample; precision = scale.
+-------------------+
| Version 1.0d |
| Released 07/14/95 |
+-------------------+
Approximately 350 terms added: allergen IGE tests (these are often called RAST tests, after the commonly used method, but more than one method is used) and coagulation tests - mostly beginning with the letters P through Z -- which were inadvertently omitted from Release 1.0a.
We have established links between LOINC codes and approximately 1500 MetPath codes. These are mapped in METPATH_CODE.
In most instances, we have supplied properties for the records whose property fields were blank. Most of these terms are in the hematology class.
We identified a number of duplicate entries. Usually these had quite different names but the names were synonyms. In these cases, one of the duplicates was marked "DEL" in the STATUS field, and the MAP_TO field of that record contains a pointer to the correct record. In every case the LOINC record with the smaller LOINC
number was identified as the preferred LOINC record and the other one was marked as a "deleted term." (Records are never actually deleted from the LOINC database, but if a term should no longer be used, the value of STATUS will be set to DEL.)
+-------------------+
| Version 1.0c |
| Released 06/28/95 |
+-------------------+
Two terms with duplicate LOINC Number 5917-0 marked Status="DEL" and reassigned to LOINC Numbers 5932-9 and
5933-7.
+-------------------+
| Version 1.0b |
| Released 06/23/95 |
+-------------------+
Approximately 20 Chemistry terms added.
+-------------------+
| Version 1.0a |
| Released 05/24/95 |
+-------------------+
"MAP_TO" field added to provide mapping to new terms when old terms are marked for logical deletion (we put a "DEL" in the STATUS field to indicate this.) We added 16 coagulation terms to the WP version; these terms were in the 1.0 release of the ASCII database but were mistakenly omitted from the WordPerfect 1.0 release. We marked term 3173-2 (Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time) as STATUS="DEL" because it was a duplicate of term 5898-2 (Coagulation Surface Induced, which carries APTT and Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time as
synonyms).
In BC (blood count) terms, METHOD=FLOW CYTOMETER changed to METHOD = AUTOMATED COUNT to more accurately reflect lab terminology.
+-------------------+
| Version 1.0 |
| Released 04/24/95 |
+-------------------+
