496: FOX-DB: A Fetal Ontology X-reference Database for Fetal Medicine

Terminology and coding systems vary widely in fetal medicine. This lack of uniformity hampers effective communication & comparison of results between different units, specialties and countries. We aimed to develop a lexicon of terminology and definitions (a biomedical ontology) that could be used by all MFM’s in Canada. This would be maintained through a web server allowing clinicians to obtain standardized, transferable, accurate results for clinical and research purposes. FOX-DB was developed in Visual Studio.Net 2005 to cross-reference some of the most respected and widely used international coding systems: 1) ICD-10, 2) London Database, 3) American Cardiac Association, 4) OMIM, 5) British Pediatric Association COD, 6) Orpha.Net. Other appropriate systems can be included in the future. A mutidisciplinary group used FOX-DB to develop and evaluate a unified ontology by x-referencing terminologies and codes across various coding systems. Variables were compared at several levels: i) clinical systems, ii) sub-components, iii) antenatal findings, iv) postnatal diagnoses, v) frequency of occurence. Preliminary analyses show marked differences and overlap in terminology and coding between systems. We created a unified ontology in XML format of several thousand entries. These data can be converted into a variety of formats for different computer systems & epidemiological databases. Entries were divided into findings and diagnoses, each being associated with various ontological properties and x-referenced with various coding systems. We are developing an online web server to facilitate maintenance, distribution and analysis in a variety of data formats. Standardized terminology is essential for effective clinical and research communication between specialties, databases, units & countries. It would allow data sharing between institutions and would improve record accuracy. We suggest that FOX-DB may have widespread application and appeal for many clinicians internationally.