Separating fact from fiction: A statement from the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program, the Canadian Paediatric Society, and Paediatrics & Child Health

The Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program (CPSP) is a joint project of the Canadian Paediatric Society and the Public Health Agency of Canada, which conducts surveillance of rare diseases and conditions in children and youth. Formed in 1996, it has conducted more than 89 multi-year studies and 65 one-time surveys on topics such as congenital syphilis, complex regional pain syndrome, anaphylaxis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and many more.

Through the voluntary participation of approximately 2700 paediatricians and paediatric subspecialists, the CPSP has demonstrated the importance of timely epidemiological data collection to child and youth health and well-being. In the face of emerging public health threats, the established infrastructure of the CPSP can be rapidly mobilized to gather near real-time data to quickly inform decisions, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the ways that that the CPSP translates knowledge gained from its studies and surveys is through short columns called Surveillance Highlights (formerly CPSP Highlights), which are written by CPSP investigators and submitted to the Canadian Paediatric Society’s journal, Paediatrics & Child Health, for peer review and publication. 

Surveillance Highlights are intended as teaching tools and feature a clinical vignette describing a fictional case related to a CPSP study or survey. These are not “case reports” as this term is used in medical journals, but are intended to teach paediatric health care providers and residents about a specific disease or condition.

It recently came to our attention that some readers were unaware that these vignettes are not reports of actual patients. In retrospect, this was an understandable assumption for readers to make, given the columns had no disclaimer to indicate the cases are fictionalized. It was never the intention of CPSP investigators, program staff or journal editors to mislead: CPSP investigators were asked to create fictionalized cases. However, everyone who oversaw the development and publication of these columns failed to communicate this to readers and for that we apologize.

To remedy the situation, we have taken action on two fronts:

• To ensure that all previously published CPSP Highlights and Surveillance Highlights are clearly identified as fictionalized, we have added a linked “Society Note” to each column.
• Instructions to Authors have been clarified, and CPSP program staff will ensure that any future Surveillance Highlights submitted to Paediatrics & Child Health for peer review will include an appropriate disclaimer.

Although the remedy for the Surveillance Highlights archives raised questions for some authors and readers, the process was necessary to ensure that this disclaimer is properly linked with all Surveillance Highlights that are indexed in searchable databases.

We apologize to authors and readers for any confusion this oversight has caused. Both Paediatrics & Child Health and the Canadian Paediatric Society have many processes in place to uphold the highest standards of scientific ethics and integrity, and we welcome feedback from all who use our information and resources to make evidence-based decisions for children and youth in Canada.