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Objectives: To assess how invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) records held by the Irish Meningitis & Sepsis Reference Laboratory (IMSRL) compare to records of IMD notifications reported on the national integrated electronic Computerised Infectious Disease Reporting (CIDR) system., Study Design: We assessed the completeness, data quality and timeliness of IMD notifications and reference laboratory records for the period between 01 July 1999 and 30 June 2015 by identifying discrepant and/or missing data items in a matched case data set and by measuring the timeliness of case reporting., Methods: We matched anonymised cases notified to CIDR to records based at the IMSRL using birth, reporting and onset dates with gender and laboratory parameters of meningococcal strain characteristics and method of confirmation. Completeness, data quality and the timeliness of notifications were assessed by a stratified sensitivity-based technique and by calculating the average difference between IMSRL and CIDR reporting dates., Results: CIDR recorded a total of 3163 notifications, of which 2759 (87.2%) were matched to IMSRL records. Completeness of IMD case classification as confirmed was estimated to be >99%. Examining the levels of discrepant or missing data in both matched CIDR and IMSRL records as a measure of data quality, recording of demographic items and meningococcal group showed least differences, recording of laboratory case confirmation method and meningococcal strain characteristics were less well recorded, with detail on clinical presentation/diagnosis least well recorded. Overall average annual difference between CIDR and IMSRL recording dates was 3.2 days (95% confidence interval 2.6-3.8)., Conclusions: A high quality of IMD surveillance in Ireland was demonstrated, but scope for improvements in timeliness and capture of enhanced surveillance data regarding date of onset and strain-specific characteristics were identified., (Copyright © 2017 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To describe the incidence, clinical characteristics and outcomes of critically ill patients in Ireland with pandemic (H1N1) 2009 infection, and to provide a dynamic assessment of the burden of such cases on Irish intensive care units., Design, Setting and Participants: Multicentre prospective observational study of all adult patients admitted to any of the 30 ICUs in the Republic of Ireland between 15 July 2009 and 30 May 2010., Main Outcome Measures: Patient demographics, clinical characteristics and ICU mortality; ICU admissions, bed-days, bed occupancy rates and distribution., Results: Seventy-seven adult patients with pandemic (H1N1) 2009 infection were admitted to 27 of 30 Irish ICUs. The median age was 43 years (IQR, 30-56 years); 67 patients (88%) were aged under 65; 39 (51%) were male. Sixty-two patients (82%) had comorbid conditions, including obesity (36%), respiratory disease (34%) and malignancy or immunosuppression (20%). Eight (11%) were pregnant, and 27 (36%) were smokers. Sixty-seven patients were mechanically ventilated, 24 (32%) required renal replacement therapy, 39 (51%) received vasopressors and four (5%) received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Of 14 patients (18%) who died in the ICU, two had no pre-existing comorbidities. The ICU admission rate of patients with pandemic (H1N1) 2009 infection was 22.5/million population. A total of 1882 ICU bed-days (557.5 bed-days/million adult population) were consumed, equating to a 3.9% bed occupancy rate, with a peak of 14.0% in October 2009. Median length of stay was 12 days (IQR, 7-34 days)., Conclusion: The 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic was a significant burden on Irish ICUs, predominantly affecting the tertiary centres. The demographics and clinical characteristics were similar to those described in the southern hemisphere, suggesting such data may inform future resource planning for similar threats.