Impact of Rotavirus Vaccination on Childhood Hospitalization for Seizures.
BACKGROUND
Rotavirus vaccine (RV) might reduce the risk of hospitalization due to childhood seizures (CS). We aimed to identify and assess variations in the incidence of hospitalizations for CS among children <5 years of age before and after RV introduction.


METHODS
Annual hospitalization rates for any kind of CS, before and after RV introduction in 2007, were calculated using the official surveillance system for hospitalization data.


RESULTS
Our study cohort totaled 6149 children <5 years of age admitted to the hospital between 2003 and 2013 with any kind of CS (780.3* + 779.0* + 333.2* + 345* ICD-9-CM code). The annual hospitalization rates for any kind of CS in children <5 years of age were correlated with RV coverage (r = -0.673; P = 0.033) and rotavirus acute gastroenteritis admission rates (ρ = 0.506; P = 0.001), with decrease rates ranging from 16.2% (95% confidence interval: 8.3-23.5%) in 2007 to 34.0% (27.3-40.1%) in 2010, as compared with the median rate of the pre-vaccination period (2003 to 2006). Similarly, for convulsions (780.3*ICD-9-CM code), the decrease seen in children <5 years of age was significantly correlated with the increase in RV coverage (r = -0.747; P = 0.013) and rotavirus acute gastroenteritis admission rates (ρ = 0.543; P < 0.001), with decrease rates ranging from 18.7% (9.6-26.8%) in 2007 to 42.5% (35.3-48.9%) in 2012. Significant results were also obtained for infants <12 months and infants 1-2 years of age. In the remaining age groups or diagnostic categories analyzed, changes were either not significant or not related to vaccination changes or rotavirus acute gastroenteritis admission rates.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results show that rotavirus vaccination may have a significant impact in the decrease in seizure-related hospitalizations in childhood. This additional benefit of rotavirus vaccination seems more marked in the youngest infants.
From the *Translational Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases Section, Pediatrics Department, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; †Genetics, Vaccines, Infections and Pediatrics Research Group (GENVIP), Healthcare Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; and ‡Unidade de Xenética, Departamento de Anatomía Patolóxica e Ciencias Forenses, and Instituto de Ciencias Forenses, Grupo de Medicina Xenómica (GMX), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain.
Jacobo
J
Pardo-Seco
Miriam
M
Cebey-López
Nazareth
N
Martinón-Torres
Antonio
A
Salas
José
J
Gómez-Rial
Carmen
C
Rodriguez-Tenreiro
José María
JM
Martinón-Sánchez
Federico
F
Martinón-Torres
D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D022243:Rotavirus Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology*; D012640:Seizures / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014611:Vaccination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D022243:Rotavirus Vaccines