title: Estimating hospital admissions due to rotavirus gastroenteritis from hospital episode statistics.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the proportion of hospital admissions, in children < 5 years old, coded for intestinal infectious disease or non-infectious gastroenteritis, using ICD-10 codes, that were due to rotavirus infection. To assess how many children admitted with rotavirus gastroenteritis were given the specific ICD-10 code (A080) for this disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixteen-month prospective, observational study of children < 5 years old, admitted to district general hospital with: acute gastroenteritis (> or =3 loose stools/day), proven rotavirus infection and those coded as intestinal infectious disease or non-infectious gastroenteritis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four hundred and twenty children < 5 years old were admitted with acute gastroenteritis. Rotavirus was detected in 170 children's stools. Acute rotavirus gastroenteritis accounted for 81/397 (20%) children coded as having non-infectious gastroenteritis and 32/81 (40%) coded for intestinal infectious disease. Only 18 children were coded for rotavirus gastroenteritis. Potentially preventable rotavirus gastroenteritis occurred in 122 children; 78 coded as non-infectious gastroenteritis (20%) and 26 coded for intestinal infectious disease (34%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The proportion of children coded with diarrhoeal diseases and found to have rotavirus is less than previously estimated. Using the specific code for rotavirus infection to estimate hospital admissions would be a gross underestimate. Hospital episode statistics cannot reliably estimate the burden of disease due to rotavirus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Health, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Bordeseley Green East, Birmingham B9 5SS, UK. riordaa@heartsol.wmids.nhs.uk
authors.forename: F Andrew I
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Riordan
authors.forename: Theresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Quigley
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D007410:Intestinal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology