Comparison of Critical Congenital Heart Defect Case Ascertainment in Texas Using 2 Data Sources

The Texas Birth Defects Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch routinely requests facility discharge lists across the state of Texas to capture potential cases in the registry following established surveillance processes. Electronic case reporting (eCR) was implemented for birth defects surveillance in 2023. Electronic initial case reports (eICRs) are triggered in near time, permitting timely notification of potential birth defect cases. The purpose of the present evaluation was to determine case ascertainment of critical congenital heart defects in Texas across 2 data sources, a facility discharge list, and the eCR data for the same facility. Results indicate a more complete capture of potential diagnoses in the eCR data, although not all eCR-identified diagnoses were confirmed via medical chart abstraction or within the eICR. Thus, although eCR is a timelier, and potentially more complete source for potential case/diagnosis identification, it is not currently a viable source for diagnosis confirmation.