Past studies
Find information about previous studies with BPSU over its history. This includes the key findings, as well as any publications associated with the study. These display in order of the study's start date, and you can use the filter to find by category or start date.
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Congenital and hospitalised neonatal varicella
BPSU surveillance of fetal varicella syndrome (FVS) and neonatal varicella commenced with the June 2023 card. It is conducted by the UKHSA and led by Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, and studies how many babies have FVS or neonatal varicella, the features of the diseases, the treatments babies receive and the outcomes of their disease. It aims to understand FVS and neonatal varicella in order to guide decisions about chicken pox vaccination, and to guide the treatment of these conditions. A parallel study is conducted in Portugal.
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Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis/ chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis (CRMO/CNO)
Surveillance of chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis/ chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis (CRMO/CNO) commenced in October 2020. It is being led by Dr Chenqu Suo, winner of the Sir Peter Tizard Bursary 2018-19. This study intends to find out how common CRMO/CNO is, and who is involved in the care of CRMO/CNO patients. This will help to guide planning in healthcare services. Moreover, by looking at the existing treatments patients receive and their outcome, the study will allow us to understand the different treatments being used across the country, the short-term outlook, and complications.
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Multisystem inflammatory syndrome, Kawasaki disease and toxic shock syndrome
Surveillance of multisystem inflammatory syndrome commenced in 2020. The aim was to understand the incidence, presenting features, laboratory features, management, clinical course and the outcome of this potentially new syndrome characterised by hyperinflammation which is temporally associated with COVID-19. A better understanding of the illness will help improve the way we look after such children and may lead to new treatment and prevention strategies in the future.
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Neonatal complications of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
Surveillance of the neonatal complications of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) commenced in March 2020. The study aims to find out how many babies develop coronavirus infection in the first month after birth, and how many babies born to women with coronavirus need neonatal care; describe which babies develop COVID-19 infection and what symptoms or signs they have; and describe how COVID-19 in babies is identified and treated.
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Herpes simplex virus
BPSU surveillance of neonatal herpes simplex virus disease in infants less than 90 days of ages commenced in July 2019 and will run for 4.5 years. This study will assess the current disease burden of HSV to inform future practice on detection, prevention and management of this dangerous disease.
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Enterovirus and parechovirus meningitis
Surveillance of enterovirus and parechovirus meningitis in infants less than 90 days of age concluded in July 2015. The study team hope to understand the clinical burden of the condition. A paper has now been published in Archives of Disease in Childhood - see below link to the abstract.
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Listeria infection in infants
Surveillance of listeria infection in infants less than 90 days commenced in September 2017. The study aims to establish the incidence of listeria infection in young infants, define whether some ethnic groups or geographical areas are more affected and describe the management and clinical outcome of the infected babies in the UK and ROI. Results will inform national antibiotic policy for young infants.
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Congenital syphilis 1
The BPSU survey of congenital syphilis began in July 1993. It aimed to undertake surveillance for congenital syphilis in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. At the time of the survey, the only surveillance of congenital syphilis was through the genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics, and it was unclear whether all affected children might be attending such facilities.
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Invasive haemophilus influenzae infection following HIB Immunisation
In September 1992, the BPSU included invasive H influenzae infection occurring after Hib immunisation in its reporting scheme. In 1995, surveillance also included cases occurring in unvaccinated children. The data collected allowed the estimation of vaccine effectiveness, in relation to both the pre-vaccine era and incidence of cases in the unvaccinated population. In the later years of the study, there was confidence that estimates of efficacy truly represented the effect of the primary infant series.
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Measles, mumps, rubella-meningoencephalitis (MMR)
Active surveillance of mumps vaccine-associated meningoencephalitis was initiated in 1990 through the BPSU. BPSU reporters in the British Isles were asked to report cases of meningoencephalitis in children under 16 years of age occurring within six weeks of receiving the MMR vaccine.
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Congenital toxoplasmosis 1
At the time of the study, there was a debate about whether there should be a prenatal screening programme for toxoplasmosis in the UK. This study aimed to determine the number of cases in the British Isles.
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AIDs / HIV (HIV infection and vertical HIV exposure)
National surveillance of HIV infection and vertical HIV exposure was carried out by the NSHPC and covered all infants born to HIV positive women in the UK and Ireland, as well as all children diagnosed with HIV (regardless of country of birth) before the age of 16. The BPSU provided case notifications to the NSHPC, facilitating data collection for national HIV paediatric surveillance. Data collected contributed to a wide range of epidemiological and clinical analyses and publications, including assessments of the impact of antenatal screening and the uptake of interventions in pregnancy and the monitoring of developments in the management of infected and exposed children.
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