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PRU-MHC: Policy Research Unit in Maternal Health & Care (2010 - 2018)

Investigation of the completeness of case ascertainment by UKOSS using gastroschisis as one of the candidate conditions

This project, in collaboration with the British Isles Network of Congenital Anomaly Registers (BINOCAR) and the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons (BAPS) used the candidate disorder of gastroschisis to compare case identification through UKOSS, BAPS, the National Congenital Anomaly System (NCAS) and the regional congenital anomalies registers. This comparison used log linear methods and logit methods to model dependence between sources in order to overcome any biases in the estimate of ascertainment introduced by lack of independence. There were 288 cases of gastroschisis identified through UKOSS & BAPS-CASS in an estimated 726,517 total births. Seven further cases were identified through BINOCAR, representing an estimated total prevalence of 4.1 cases/10,000 births (95%CI 3.6-4.6/10,000).

The national prevalence of gastroschisis estimated from this study is almost double the most recent figure from the National Congenital Anomaly System (NCAS), corroborating reports of under-ascertainment through NCAS. This study suggests the national prevalence of gastroschisis is increasing in line with estimates from BINOCAR.

NPEU Contact:
Marian Knight (marian.knight@npeu.ox.ac.uk)