cda_to_dict.py

cda_to_dict.py is a Python script designed to convert a Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) XML file into a Python dictionary structure. This allows for easy manipulation, analysis, and processing of CDA documents in a format that is more convenient for Python applications.

Features

• Converts a CDA XML file to a nested dictionary representation.
• Strips XML namespaces for simpler access.
• Handles XML attributes and text content.
• Ignores comment nodes in the XML.

Requirements

• Python 3.x
• lxml library

Installation

Install the required dependencies using pip:

pip install lxml

Usage

To use the script, run it from the command line with the path to the CDA XML file as an argument:

python cda_to_dict.py <cda_file>

Example

Suppose you have a CDA XML file named example_cda.xml. You can convert it to a dictionary by running:

python cda_to_dict.py example_cda.xml

The script will output the dictionary representation of the CDA file.

Programmatic Use

You can also use the cda_to_dict function in your own Python projects:

from cda_to_dict import cda_to_dict

cda_file = "example_cda.xml"
cda_dict = cda_to_dict(cda_file)
print(cda_dict)

Function Details

cda_to_dict(cda_file)

Parameters:

• cda_file (str): The path to the CDA XML file.

Returns:

• A Python dictionary representing the structure and content of the CDA XML file.

Key Features:

• Strips XML namespaces for easier access to tags.
• Converts attributes and text nodes into dictionary entries.
• Collapses child elements into nested dictionaries.

Development and Contribution

Contributions are welcome! If you encounter any issues or have suggestions for improvement, please open an issue or submit a pull request on the project repository.

Running Tests

Ensure you have test CDA XML files available and run the script to verify its output:

python cda_to_dict.py test_file.xml

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.