Premium
The tip of the iceberg: A validation study of the Victorian Congenital Malformations/Birth Defects Register
Author(s) -
LUMLEY J.,
PALMA S.,
FISCHER M.,
ROBERTSON H.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1754.1988.tb01349.x
Subject(s) - medicine , register (sociolinguistics) , iceberg , congenital malformations , pediatrics , pregnancy , genetics , philosophy , linguistics , biology , sea ice , oceanography , geology
Among 1500 children under 4 years of age admitted consecutively to two paediatric teaching hospitals in Victoria in 1985 the prevalence of birth defects was 20%. Fewer than half of these defects had been notified to the Victorian Congenital Malformations Register. Only chromosomal anomalies and, to a lesser extent, major structural malformations present at birth were adequately ascertained. The implications for birth defects monitoring and for service planning are discussed.