title: Healthcare Costs of Rotavirus and Other Types of Gastroenteritis in Children in Norway.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Norway has initiated a publicly funded rotavirus immunization program for all age-eligible children in 2014. We aimed to estimate the healthcare costs of rotavirus gastroenteritis in children younger than 5 years old.
  
  
  METHODS
  We identified all gastroenteritis cases in children younger than 5 years old treated during 2009-2013 through the national claims database for primary care and the national hospital registry. We estimated direct medical costs of rotavirus-associated primary care consultations and hospital encounters (inpatient admission, outpatient visit and ambulatory care). We performed a range of one-way sensitivity analyses to explore uncertainty in the cost estimates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Before vaccine introduction, the mean healthcare cost of rotavirus gastroenteritis in children younger than 5 years old was €4,440,337 per year. Among rotavirus-associated costs, 92% were hospital costs and the remaining 8% were primary care costs. The mean annual cost of rotavirus-associated hospital encounters was €4,083,691, of which 95% were costs of inpatient hospital admissions. The average healthcare cost of medically attended gastroenteritis in children younger than 5 years old was approximately €8 million per year, of which rotavirus-related costs represented 56%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Healthcare costs of rotavirus gastroenteritis in Norway are substantial. The cost-effectiveness of ongoing rotavirus immunization program should be reassessed.
authors.affiliation: From the *University of Oslo, National Evidence-based Health Care Collaborating Agency, Seoul, South Korea; †Department of Vaccines, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway; and ‡Institute of Health and Society, Department of Health Management and Health Economics, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Minkyung
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Beatriz Valcarcel
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Salamanca
authors.forename: Ivar S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Kristiansen
authors.forename: Elmira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Flem
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000191:economics; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000191:economics; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012401:Rotavirus; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D022243:Rotavirus Vaccines; D014611:Vaccination / Q000191:economics
chemical_list: D022243:Rotavirus Vaccines