Networks in Canadian paediatric surgery: Time to get connected.

There has been a recent trend of improved outcomes for most infants born with surgically correctable congenital malformations, despite the fact that current surgical treatment is not standardized, with wide variations in practice among institutions. Because care for these infants is multidisciplinary, it is difficult to ascertain with clarity the specific role of neonatal surgery in determining outcomes. Moreover, the lack of validated measures of illness severity for most complex congenital malformations makes risk adjustment difficult. For these reasons, the utility of randomized controlled trials in determining best surgical practice in neonatal surgery for congenital malformations is impractical, and another means of deriving medical evidence to justify 'optimal' treatment is necessary.The Canadian Paediatric Surgical Network (CAPSNet) was developed specifically to address these issues. Patterned after the highly successful Canadian Neonatal Network, CAPSNet collects standardized data on every case of gastroschisis and congenital diaphragmatic hernia evaluated in the 16 referral perinatal centres in Canada. These centres serve as provincial referral centres for perinatal care, and, therefore, the data set created is population-based for gastroschisis and congenital diaphragmatic hernia in Canada. In addition to neonatal data fields recorded in the Canadian Neonatal Network, CAPSNet collects specific prenatal data, and details on surgical treatment and outcomes within each of the 16 participating centres. It is hoped that by using advanced analytical techniques, including outcomes modelling and multiple logistic regression analysis of risk-adjusted outcome variations by type of surgery performed, optimal treatment paradigms will be identified that will lead to further outcome improvement in babies born with complex birth defects.