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 - Multisystem inflammatory syndrome, Kawasaki disease and toxic shock syndrome
Surveillance of multisystem inflammatory syndrome has now commenced. Our aim is 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 C...
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BPSU 'snap-shot' survey - delayed presentations to hospitals
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to concerns that children are, for various reasons, presenting late to emergency departments. This has led to delayed diagnosis and hence a delay in treatment. Such presentation delays are well known, but they appear to have increased during this pandemic. Unfortunately...
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BPSU study to look at neonatal complications of COVID-19
1 April 2020
The British Paediatric Surveillance Unit has now started collecting data on neonatal complications of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the UK and Northern Ireland. This study is needed to understand the impact of Coronavirus infection in newborn babies and babies born to mothers with Coronavirus, s...
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BPSU study - 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 ...
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Surveillance of outcome of resuscitated term babies with no heart rate detected at 10 minutes of age starts next month
5 March 2020
This study, run through the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit (BPSU), will identify the incidence of term babies who receive resuscitation following birth and have no heart rate detected at 10 minutes of age, describing the demographic characteristics, clinical features and initial management of ...
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BPSU study - Conservative care in end-stage kidney disease
This surveillance study is due to commence in April 2020. This study aims to identify children with ESKD who receive conservative care, to understand how the decision not to start renal replacement therapy is made and important factors that are considered in this decision-making process.
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BPSU study - Glucocorticoid induced adrenal suppression
BPSU surveillance of outcome of symptomatic glucocorticoid induced adrenal suppression is due to commence in April 2020. This study will estimate how many people are presenting to healthcare providers with adrenal suppression causing symptoms because of them currently or previously taking glucocorti...
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BPSU study - Outcome of resuscitated term babies with no heart rate detected at 10 minutes of age
This surveillance study is due to commence in March 2020. This study will identify the incidence of term babies who receive resuscitation following birth and have no heart rate detected at 10 minutes of age: describe the demographic characteristics, clinical features and initial management of this p...
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Surveillance of clinical characteristics of children with pneumococcal meningitis starts this month
27 January 2020
This British Paediatric Surveillance Unit study will aim to gain a better understanding of these non-vaccine strains of pneumococcal bacteria causing meningitis - enabling more accurate information to patients and their families on prognosis and informing public health vaccine policy.
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BPSU study - Clinical characteristics of children with pneumococcal meningitis
BPSU surveillance of the clinical characteristics of children with pneumococcal meningitis is due to commence in January 2020. This study will estimate the incidence of childhood pneumococcal meningitis in the era of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines; describe symptoms and signs at presentation; descr...