title: Trends in hospital admissions for Varicella and Zoster viruses in England, 2001/2002-2010/2011: time trend study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Varicella and Herpes Zoster are common infectious diseases. Various studies have estimated rates of infection for both manifestations of these infections; however rates of hospital admissions across the country have not previously been described. This paper presents data on hospital admissions in England for Varicella and Herpes Zoster from 2001/2002 to 2010/2011.
  
  
  METHODS
  Time trends study of all hospital admissions for Varicella and Herpes Zoster from 2001/2002 to 2010/2011 in England.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hospital admissions across England from 2001/2002 to 2010/2011.
  
  
  METHODS
  We included all patients admitted to hospital from 2001/2002 to 2010/2011 diagnosed with Varicella and Zoster according to the International Classification of Diseases version 10 (ICD-10).
  
  
  METHODS
  The main outcome measures were admission rates by year and diagnosis and age-specific admission rates for Varicella and Zoster from 2001/2002 to 2010/2011.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analysed data from Hospital Episode Statistics which include patient characteristics such as age which was used here in order to standardise rates to the relevant population. We also used mid-year population estimates from the Office for National Statistics for standardisation purposes. All analyses were conducted using Stata v12.0.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The hospital admission rate for Varicella cases has risen by 1.8% over the 10-year study period. While the overall admission rates for Herpes Zoster have decreased by 4% from 2001/2002 levels. The vast majority of Varicella and Zoster admissions were not associated with any complications.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The introduction of Herpes Zoster vaccine is anticipated to decrease hospital admissions in older age groups further. A repeat of this study after a further period of time would help to evaluate the impact of the introduction of Herpes Zoster vaccine in England on hospital admissions.
authors: Imperial College London, London W6 8RP, UK.
authors: Bayad
authors: B
authors: Abdalrahman
authors: Imperial College London, London W6 8RP, UK.
authors: Anthony A
authors: AA
authors: Laverty
authors: Public Health England East Midlands Centre, Nottingham City Hospital, Nottingham NG5 1PB, UK.
authors: Gail
authors: G
authors: Beckett
authors: Imperial College London, London W6 8RP, UK.
authors: Azeem
authors: A
authors: Majeed
keywords: infectious diseases; management and policy; public health