Observational Research in Childhood Infectious Diseases (ORChID): a dynamic birth cohort study

Lambert, Stephen Bernard; Ware, Robert S; Cook, Anne L; Maguire, Frances A; Whiley, David M; Bialasiewicz, Seweryn; Mackay, Ian M; Wang, David; Sloots, Theo P; Nissen, Michael D; Grimwood, Keith

An initial visit is undertaken once a child is delivered, preferably whilst the mother and child are still in hospital. At this visit, consent for participation is confirmed, an initial anterior nose swab and nappy swab are collected from the study child, and parents are taught the process for collecting these specimens, nasal swabs are collected from parents, diaries and study paperwork are reviewed, and arrangements are made to retrieve cord blood, if available. Hospital, Everton Park). These hospitals serve communities in northern metropolitan Brisbane, a city of more than two million people, and every year each has approximately 6100 and 1700 deliveries, respectively. Exclusion criteria for enrolment and ongoing participation include gestational age at birth of less than 36 weeks, major congenital abnormalities, chronic heart, respiratory (excluding asthma), gastrointestinal, neurological or immunological disorders, parent unable to converse in English, living outside the Brisbane metropolitan region, or planning to move from the area within the next two years. As a dynamic cohort study, children can leave and re-join the cohort as required. 13