Reye's Syndrome

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Belay and colleagues (May 6 issue)1 caution that a decrease in the sensitivity of the passive scheme for reporting Reye's syndrome in the United States might have contributed to the observed decline in incidence. Initially, the reporting in the United Kingdom was also done on a passive basis. However, in July 1986 the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit was established as an active case-reporting system for uncommon childhood disorders.2 The method of data collection involves monthly mailing of a report card to every consulting pediatrician in the United Kingdom, which must be returned even if no cases of a reportable disorder have been seen. The rate of card return in 1997 was 93 percent.3 All reported deaths are also screened for those attributed to Reye's syndrome, with the same case definition as was used by Belay et al.