Swiss Pediatric Inflammatory Brain Disease Registry (Swiss-Ped-IBrainD)
brief summary
The Swiss-Ped-IBrainD is a national patient registry that collects information on diagnosis, symptoms, treatment, and follow-up of pediatric patients with an inflammatory brain disease in Switzerland. It was first implemented in 2020 in the pediatric clinic of the university hospital in Bern. Further centers all over Switzerland opened for recruitment after that: Aarau, Basel, Bellinzona, Chur, Geneva, Lausanne, Lucerne, St. Gallen, Winterthur and Zurich. The center in Fribourg is expected open for recruitment in 2025. The registry provides data for national and international monitoring and research. It supports research on inflammatory brain diseases in Switzerland and the exchange of knowledge between clinicians, researchers, and therapists. The registry aims to improve the treatment of children with inflammatory brain diseases and optimizing their health care and quality of life.
detailed description
Background:
Pediatric onset MS and other inflammatory brain diseases (IBrainDs) are severe diseases affecting children and adolescents in a period of essential brain development. This possibly leads to a variety of focal neurological deficits as well as early cognitive impairment. In turn, the cognitive impairment may impact school performance and vocational achievements.
Timely diagnosis and treatment initiation as well as individually tailored management are important for a favorable disease course. However, the diagnosis of the different IBrainDs can be challenging, especially in young children, since their first acute inflammation is often accompanied by unspecific symptoms common to all IBrainDs. A systematic assessment of similarities and differences between clinical signs, symptoms, and diagnostic workup of different IBrainDs will enable faster and more reliable diagnosis.
Furthermore, neither epidemiological data nor information on health care management and disease outcome of pediatric IBrainD patients exist in Switzerland. Therefore, a national registry is being established, which will allow a deeper understanding of pediatric IBrainD epidemiology, clinical presentation, and management. Ultimately, the registry will improve the care of children suffering from an IBrainD in Switzerland.
The Swiss-Ped-IBrainD Registry (title: "Swiss Pediatric Inflammatory Brain Disease Cohort Study", project number: 2019-00377) has been approved by the ethics committees of Bern, the Ethikkommission Nordwest- und Zentralschweiz (EKNZ), the Ethikkommission Ostschweiz (EKOS), and the ethics committees of Zürich, Lausanne, Geneva, and Bellinzona.
Objectives:
The registry pursues the following goals:
1. Gathering representative, population-based epidemiological data on pediatric IBrainD in Switzerland. 2. Monitoring treatment, clinical course, education, social aspects, and outcomes of pediatric IBrainD patients. 3. Providing a platform to facilitate research, national and international collaboration and exchange of knowledge between experts.
The registry thus addresses the increasing requests for medical trial participation and promotes the exchange with existing adult registries (e.g., Swiss MS Registry).
Inclusion/exclusion criteria:
official title
Swiss Pediatric Inflammatory Bain Disease Cohort Study