Overview
The EUROCAT Data Management Software (DMS) is a specially designed program for European surveillance of congenital anomalies.
The program is available for all full, associate and affiliate EUROCAT member registries. All users must conform to EUROCAT guidelines and instructions for transmitting data (EUROCAT Guide 1.5).
Key Features
The EUROCAT DMS has many features which enable effective epidemiological surveillance including:
- Database management functions such as data validation and duplicate case checking.
- Reporting prevalence rates of congenital anomalies.
- Statistical monitoring of clusters and time trends.
The database management functions are essential for the collection of accurate standardized data from all of the participating registries. Data validation routines enable data checks to be carried out locally, before transmission of the data to the JRC-EUROCAT Central Registry.
The report function creates output tables/reports presenting prevalence rates for EUROCAT congenital anomaly subgroups both including chromosomal anomalies and excluding chromosomal anomalies or for user-defined congenital anomaly subgroups. Depending on the type of table selected, users can obtain total prevalence (livebirth, fetal death, termination of pregnancy), birth prevalence (livebirth, fetal death) or livebirth prevalence for the specified congenital anomaly and time period.
Statistical monitoring in DMS allows users to run cluster and trend tests over time. Scan methods are used to detect clusters, which can be based on estimated date of conception or on date of birth. Methodology is explained in the EUROCAT Statistical Monitoring Protocol.