Please affix EPICure study

1
Please affix EPICure study bar-coded label here
EPICure 2 A study of extreme prematurity in 2006
Examination of the umbilical cord for signs of
inflammation Procedures following all births 220
266 weeks gestational age during 2006 Any
specimen sent for pathological examination should
be labelled with an EPICure label and sent to
the pathologist together with this form, 2 spare
EPICure bar-coded labels and a Histopathology
Freepost label in addition to your standard
hospital label and request form

• Labour Ward
• If you routinely send placenta and membranes to
  the pathologist please also send this form and
  EPICure labels as indicated above
• 2. OR If you dont send them routinely, please
  send them for this birth
• 3. OR If this is difficult please send a piece of
  cord, about 10cm from the baby end, to the
  pathologist in formalin in a universal container
  with this form and EPICure labels
• Please dont forget to indicate on the EPICure
  Labour Ward Log form what you have done

Dear Pathologist The research team has sent
letters about the study to pathologists they
believe are likely to receive this material so we
hope you already know about it. If you dont we
apologise some information is available on the
reverse of this card. We hope you will be able
to process a piece of umbilical cord about 10 cm
from the fetal end to a paraffin block, label
the block with the EPICure number that is on the
bar-code label and send it to Dr Helen Porter,
Consultant Paediatric Pathologist in Leicester
at FREEPOST HISTOPATHOLOGY EPICURE 2 If this
is not possible we would be grateful if you could
retain a piece of cord in formalin and the study
team will make arrangements to collect it at the
end of the recruitment period.
2
EPICure 2 is a population based study of
outcomes of extreme prematurity. The study team
is aiming to collect information about all births
in the gestational age range 220 266 weeks in
all English maternity units during 2006.The
study is funded from a Programme Grant awarded by
the Medical Research Council that supports a
number of studies about extreme prematurity,
including continued follow up of the national
cohort recruited by the same research team in
1995. The principal aims of EPICure 2 are to
measure major survival and morbidity in 2006 and
to compare with findings in 1995 and at the same
time to collect increased clinical information
describing complications and management around
the time of birth to study associations with
later outcomes. Funding is available for follow
up of this cohort.The study, including the
collection of a piece of umbilical cord is
approved by the East London Research Ethics
Committee 05/Q0605/107 and has been registered
with the NHS RD departments of all the
participating NHS Trusts. The study team have
permission to use clinical data collected from
routine sources without explicit consent from
bereaved parents PIAG 3-07(f)/2005. Parents of
babies who survive to go home will be asked to
give consent for the study team to link neonatal
data including the results of umbilical cord
examination to paediatric outcomes.More
information is available on the study website at
www.epicurestudy.com or from the Principal
Investigator for the perinatal data collection,
Professor Kate Costeloe via Kerrie.Montoute_at_homert
on.nhs.uk.