INTERVAL BETWEEN ONSET OF CONDITION AND DEATH

The “Approximate interval between onset and death” should be reported for each disease, injury, or other condition reported in Part I, lines a/b/c/d.

Many conditions are present for a long time before they are diagnosed. The interval should identify how long the patient had the condition, not how long it has been since it was diagnosed. However, if the only interval information you have is the time since diagnosis, specify that with a statement such as “diagnosed 2 weeks” or “known 4 months.”

Whenever possible, report the interval specifically, such as “three minutes”, “four months”, or “25 years”. If you cannot do this, you may report the units of time in more general terms, such as “few minutes”, “several months” or “many years.” If you cannot do that, then report just the units of time, such as “minutes”, “months”, or “years.”

Interval may also be reported as a date, such as “March 13, 2007”, or a range such as “10-15 years” or “2-3 weeks.” You may also report the interval using terms such as “chronic”, “long-term”, “congenital”, “acute”, “recent”, “sudden”, “instant”, etc.

As a last resort, when the interval cannot be approximated, estimated, or generally described, report the interval as “unknown.” Don’t leave the interval blank.

Intervals on the death certificate are used to confirm that the conditions were reported in the proper sequence. Intervals are also used to assign the ICD (International Classification of Diseases) medical codes that are the basis for mortality statistics. In addition, insurance companies may use the interval to determine if a condition was pre-existing.

Although abbreviations should be avoided on death certificates, the small size of the “Interval” section often makes abbreviations necessary. If unit of time is abbreviated, be sure it is clearly understandable. Don’t use degree signs, apostrophes, or other symbols for units of time.