The German Paediatric Surveillance Unit

Summary: The German Paediatric Surveillance Unit (GPSU; German: ESPED) is a nation-wide surveillance system for rare paediatric diseases or rare complications of more frequent diseases in hospitalized children in Germany. In 2022, 346 of 381 German paediatric clinics contributed to active case finding on a monthly basis. GPSU has been established by the German Society for Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (DGKJ) in 1992 and is located at the University Medical Centre Mainz since 2021. The scientific advisory board consists of nine representatives of the DGKJ and is currently chaired by Prof. Dr. Ursula Felderhoff-Müser of the University childrens' Hospital in Essen. Applications for new surveillance studies are always welcome and can be submitted to the central GPSU office at any time via email to   esped@uni-mainz.de.