Formed in 1986, the BPSU is a activity supported by Public Health England, UCL Institute of Child Health and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
The unit aims to:
- facilitate research into uncommon childhood infections and disorders for the advancement of knowledge and to effect practical improvement in prevention, treatment and service planning
- allow paediatricians to participate in surveillance of uncommon disorders and to lessen the burden on reporting doctors of such requests arising from numerous different sources
- increase awareness within the medical profession and public of the less common disorders studied and respond rapidly to public health emergencies
- collaborate with our link surveillance units in the UK and across the world.
Phone: +44 (0)20 7092 6173/74
Email: bpsu@rcpch.ac.uk
Recent content
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BPSU study - 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...
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BPSU study - Juvenile-onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Surveillance of Juvenile-onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (JSLE) commenced in September 2017. This study aims to determine the incidence of JSLE in children and young people in the UK and Ireland. The data will be analysed to better understand the epidemiology and clinical features of the disease ...
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BPSU study - Life threatening bronchopulmonary dysplasia
Surveillance of life threatening bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) commenced in July 2017. The study team aim to describe the incidence of life threatening BPD of prematurity, describe the antecedent factors, current treatment choices used in the UK and Ireland (including a description of the support...
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BPSU study - Deaths in children with epilepsy
Surveillance of deaths in children and young people with epilepsy (excluding Scotland) commenced in October 2016. The study team were hoping to determine the size of the problem of deaths in children affected by epilepsy, to compare the differences between sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUDEP...
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BPSU study - Congenital Zika syndrome
Surveillance of congenital Zika syndrome in infants under and including six months of age in the UK and Ireland commenced in April 2016. This study aimed to identify all babies with microcephaly or neurological abnormalities born in the UK and Ireland to mothers who have travelled to countries with ...
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BPSU study - Childhood disintegrative disorder
Surveillance of childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD) concluded in November 2017 and is in the follow-up period of its data collection. The study will provide important information regarding the number of new cases of CDD in the UK and Ireland, the clinical presentation management of those with CD...
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BPSU study - PIND (Progressive Intellectual and Neurological Deterioration)
Surveillance of Progressive Intellectual and Neurological Deterioration (PIND) in Children (including Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease) through the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit began in May 1997 with the main aim of determining whether or not a child has developed variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease ...
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BPSU surveillance - Congenital rubella
Surveillance of congenital rubella in the UK up to the age of 16 years is carried out by the Integrated Screening Outcomes Surveillance Service (ISOSS) on behalf of the NHS Infectious Diseases in Pregnancy Screening Programme.
Congenital rubella is a notifiable disease. However, to support the s...
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BPSU surveillance - HIV infection and vertical HIV exposure
National surveillance of HIV infection and vertical HIV exposure is carried out by the National Surveillance of HIV in Pregnancy & Childhood (NSHPC) and covers 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) be...
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BPSU - Bulletins
The British Paediatric Surveillance Unit produces a regular newsletter to send to reporting clinicians and other interested parties.