Data Elements

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)

The Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Surveillance Link (FASSLink) software developed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the abstraction tool that will be used to collect information on children with FAS-like symptoms. The following data elements, which are key to FAS diagnosis, will be abstracted from their medical records:

• Prenatal alcohol exposure or maternal history of alcohol consumption;
• FAS diagnosed or noted as a suspected diagnosis by a physician;
• One or more facial features characteristic of FAS;
• Growth deficiency (any measurement of height, weight, or head circumferences = 10th percentile for age); and
• Central Nervous System Impairment.

Based on the information collected on the above data elements, a computer generated algorithm built into the FASSLink software will assign case status as either: (a) Confirmed, or (b) Probable, or (c) Pending.

Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) uses strict data suppression rules to protect the privacy and confidentiality of the subjects.  Only de-identified data will be shared with CDC and only aggregate numbers are reported in the Statistical Reports section.