The
West Midlands Congenital Anomaly Register (CAR) was
set up in July 1994 and is administered by the West
Midlands Perinatal Institute. The register aims to collect
information from conception to the first 2 years of
life on the occurrence of suspected and confirmed congenital
anomalies. It includes deliveries in any West Midlands
maternity unit from residents in any region or deaths
from congenital anomalies.
A number of minor anomalies are excluded from the
register (see list)
Notifications are received by 2 methods, the first
is a notification card usually completed by the Ultrasound
department. This notifies the register of suspected
anomalies and includes details of the type of anomaly
seen on ultrasound and the estimated date of delivery.
The second method is a notification form which contains
additional details relating to the date that the anomaly
was first suspected and includes the final diagnosis.
The notification forms are completed by midwives,
obstetricians and paediatricians. The register is maintained
on the same database as otifications of fetal and infant
deaths and in this way, the prevalence of fetal anomalies
in perinatal deaths can be validated. All anomalies
are coded using ICD 10. Addition information is received
from cytogenetics labs and departments of public health
(form SD56) inpatient activity of infants with anomalies
are received from hospital information departments.
These extra data are matched to the existing notifications
to give estimates of ascertainment and additional clinical
information is added in some cases.
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