Birth Defects Monitoring Systems Utilizing Public and Private Medical Resources in Incheon / 대한산부인과학회잡지

OBJECTIVE: To discover the etiology of birth defects and low birth weight, it is necessary to establish epidemiological birth defects monitoring system in Korea. Our aim was to develop new practical model in Incheon to establish birth defects monitoring system to evaluate the incidence rate and patterns of birth defects in Korea. METHODS: Public health center and private hospitals and clinics participated in this monitoring system. Web based reporting system have been built. Trained nurses actively collected the records obtained from delivery units in the participating hospitals during 2 years (first year: December 1st, 1998-November. 31, 1999; second year: January 1 st, 2000-December 31 th, 2000). RESULTS: Through this monitoring system at 1 st year and 2 nd year, we observed 25 birth defect cases from 2482 births, 28 birth defect cases from 3490 births including live births and stillbirths. The incidence of birth defect per thousand person was 10.1, 8.0 respectively. At 1st year, the highest proportion of birth defects was 28.0% in musculoskeletal system. The proportion of birth defects in gastrointestinal system, cardiovascular system and cleft lip & cleft palate were 20.0%, 12.0%. 12.0%. At 2 nd year, the highest proportion of birth defects was 21.4% in gastrointestinal system The proportion of birth defects in cardiovascular system and musculoskeletal system were 17.9% and 14.3%. CONCLUION: In conclusion, we could build population-based monitoring system for birth defects successfully in Yonsu gu, Incheon. To establish population-based monitoring system for birth defects in Korea, it is necessary to organize the reporters of public health center and private hospitals and clinics, to build an available reporting system, and to extend participating centers for birth defects monitoring systems.

Multi-center Study for Birth Defects Monitoring Systems in Korea / 대한산부인과학회잡지

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to establish a birth defects monitoring system in Korea by multi-center study. This novel study was initiated in 1999, and extended to detect the frequencies and trends of birth defects in Korea. METHODS: Six centers participated in this study. The actively ascertained surveillance data was collected from May 1999 to November 2001. RESULTS: Of the 65,653 births included in this study, 1,143 (1.7%) had birth defects. About one third of them were terminated. While disease of the genitourinary tract was more frequent in isolated defects, cardiovascular disease was more frequent in combined defects (19.7% and 21.7%, respectively). Chromosomal anomalies were detected 23.5 per 10,000 births. And it showed increasing tendency for 3 years. CONCLUSION: We could establish multi-center monitoring system for birth defects successfully. But, many of the problems arising in the collection of accurate, valid, and comparable epidemiological data about birth defects have not yet been overcome. It appears that the development of joint projects at national level is essential for upgrading the quality and usefulness of this study.

Establishing Web-Based Birth Defects Monitoring Systems in Incheon / 대한의료정보학회지

Problems of birth defects and low birth weight are important issues of public health because most infant mortality are caused by these two. To discover the etiology of birth defects and low birth weight, it is necessary to establish epidemiological birth defects monitoring system in Korea. With the rapid growing of internet usage in korea, the computer network has become the popular means of communicating and sharing of information. Our aim was to develop web-based reporting and database management system in Incheon to establish birth defects monitoring system to evaluate the incidence rate and patterns of birth defects in Korea. Public health center and private hospitals and clinics participated in this monitoring system. Web based reporting system have been built and operated during 2 years (first year: December 1st, 1998-November. 31, 1999; second year: January 1st, 2000 - December 31th, 2000). Trained nurses actively collected the records obtained from delivery units in the participating hospitals. During first and second year, the incidence rate of birth defect per thousand person was 10.0 and 8.0 respectively. In conclusion, we could build web-based monitoring system for birth defects successfully in Yonsu gu, Incheon. It could be a model of national standard for population-based monitoring system for birth defects in Korea.