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docs(mimic-iv): state there is no official itemid→LOINC map
Answer #1972 without promising a maintained crosswalk in this repo. Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>
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mimic-iv/docs/LOINC_MAPPING.md

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# MIMIC-IV itemid → LOINC mapping
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There is **no official, complete MIMIC-IV `itemid` → LOINC map** in this
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repository or on PhysioNet as a maintained product.
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See [issue #1972](https://github.com/MIT-LCP/mimic-code/issues/1972).
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## What exists today
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| Path | Scope | Caveat |
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|------|-------|--------|
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| `d_items` / `d_labitems` labels | MIMIC-IV dictionaries | Human-readable names, not LOINC |
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| MIMIC-III `conceptid` / community maps | Older releases | Incomplete; IV itemids are a different namespace |
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| OMOP / Athena / manual review | External | Best for modeling when you need LOINC semantics |
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| PhysioNet forum threads | Community | Useful pointers; not version-guaranteed |
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A multi-hop IV → III → LOINC conversion is **error-prone**: itemids were
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reassigned across CareVue / MetaVision / IV, and LOINC bindings in older
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helpers were never exhaustive.
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## Recommended practice for predictive modeling
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1. Prefer **MIMIC-IV `itemid`** (and `d_labitems.label` / `fluid` / `category`)
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as the primary feature key inside a single MIMIC version.
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2. If LOINC is required for multi-site harmonization, build an explicit map
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for the **subset of itemids you use**, with manual clinician/terminology
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review — do not treat a scraped IV→III→LOINC chain as ground truth.
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3. Record the MIMIC version, map provenance, and unmapped rate in the paper
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or model card.
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## What this repository will not add as “official”
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A full LOINC crosswalk would need ongoing clinical terminology maintenance
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outside the CSV loaders. Until PhysioNet publishes one, please treat any
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community CSV as **unofficial**.
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## Related
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- Lab value / unit quirks: `mimic-iv/buildmimic/TABLE_NOTES.md` (when present)
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- Qualitative labs (`NEG`/`POS`): same notes / issue #1938

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