Temporal trends in hospitalization for rotavirus gastroenteritis: A nationwide study in Italy, 2005-2012.
AGE severity is linked to etiology, and Rotavirus (RV) accounts for most of severe cases. In 2009 the World Health Organization recommended RV vaccination for all children. Worldwide a number of Countries implemented RV vaccination in their pediatric immunisation programmes, but only a limited number in Europe. This study was designed to estimate the proportion of RVGE among children aged <6 y who were diagnosed with AGE and admitted to hospitals in Italy during the years 2005-2012. A total of 334,982 hospital discharge forms were collected, being 79,344 hospitalizations associated with RV. The average hospitalization rate (HR) was 146/100,000 children for RVGE in primary diagnosis (PD) and 150/100,000 children for RVGE in secondary diagnosis (SD). Since 2008 the RVGE hospitalization figures and rates (HRs) in SD exceed those in PD. The majority of RVGE hospitalizations (33.67%) were reported among children aged ≤ 2 years. Despite some limitations due to the hospital discharge database (HDD) synthetic contents and low potential for clinical interpretation, the analysis of national HDD, including PD and SD, documents that RV still represents a consistent cause of pediatric hospitalizations in Italy.
a Medical Statistics; Section of Public Health ; Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences; University of L'Aquila ; L'Aquila , Italy.
Antonella
A
Mattei
b Department of Maternal and Child Health ; Local Health Unit of Rieti ; Rieti , Italy.
Margherita
M
Sbarbati
c Clinical Medicine and Public Health ; Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences; University of L'Aquila ; L'Aquila , Italy.
Fabiana
F
Fiasca
d Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences ; University of L'Aquila ; L'Aquila , Italy.
Anna Maria
AM
Angelone
e Epidemiology, Prevention, and Rehabilitation of Chronic-Degenerative Diseases ; Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences; University of L'Aquila ; L'Aquila , Italy.
Maria Chiara
MC
Mazzei
f General and Applied Hygiene; Section of Public Health ; Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences; University of L'Aquila ; L'Aquila , Italy.
Ferdinando
F
di Orio
D002675:Child, Preschool; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012401:Rotavirus; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D022243:Rotavirus Vaccines / Q000276:immunology; D014611:Vaccination
D022243:Rotavirus Vaccines
children; diagnosis; frequency; gastroenteritis; hospitalization rates; rotavirus; vaccine