EPSA
The European Paediatric Surgical Audit (EPSA) was developed by the Dutch Institute for Clinical Auditing (DICA) in 2014 in collaboration with the Dutch Pediatric Surgical Association. It is established to monitor and improve the quality of care for children born with rare congenital surgical conditions.
The EPSA registry currently collects data on eight rare paediatric surgical conditions: Esophageal Atresia, Hirschsprung’s Disease, Omphalocele, Gastroschisis, Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, Necrotizing Enterocolitis, Malrotation, Anorectal Malformation.
More information about ERNICA and DICA can be found via the links below:
ERNICA
ERNICA is the European Reference Network for rare Inherited and Congenital (digestive and gastrointestinal) Anomalies. The network was officially launched in March 2017. ERNICA is a network of expert multi-disciplinary healthcare professionals from specialised healthcare providers across Europe (‘ERNICA members’). ERNICA has 38 member hospitals across 20 EU/EEA countries.
‘Affiliated partners’ and patient organisations/representatives also form part of the network.
ERNICA aims to pool together disease-specific expertise, knowledge and resources from across Europe to achieve health goals that may otherwise be unachievable in a single country. Such health goals include:
- Development of clinical skill
- Increased patient access to high-quality expert care
- Increased diagnosis-specific information available to healthcare professionals, patients and their families/carers
In doing so, ERNICA also seeks to reduce health inequalities across Europe by standardising practices and making high-quality care, information and resources accessible to healthcare providers, patients and their families/carers across Europe, regardless of where they are located.
This registry is built upon the EPSA (European Pediatric Surgical Audit), which was developed in 2014 in the Netherlands by DICA (Dutch Institute for Clinical Auditing), and measures structural, process and outcome indicators for rare pediatric surgical conditions. Currently, the EPSA includes eight diseases (Esophageal Atresia, Hirschsprung’s Disease, Omphalocele, Gastroschisis, Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, Necrotizing Enterocolitis, Malrotation, Anorectal Malformation). Datasets for intestinal atresia are currently under development. The cumulative data in the EPSA can be used to support scientific research, quality improvement initiatives and international collaboration. To expand our knowledge on these rare diseases by identifying risk factors of (different types of) surgery, evaluating treatment outcomes and comparing practices across regions and countries in Europe.