Comparison of two statistical techniques for the surveillance of birth defects through a Monte Carlo simulation

In a multi‐hospital surveillance system for detecting increases in congenial malformation rates, the performance of the set technique applied individually to hospitals and of the cumulative sum (Cusum) technique applied to the aggregate of hospitals has been compared using a Monte Carlo method. The Cusum technique appears to be both more sensitive to real increases and less likely to issue false alarms. Copyright © 1984 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.