Epidemiology of rotavirus-associated hospital admissions in the province of Ferrara, Italy

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Abstract
Overview Hospital discharge forms with specific codes forud rotavirus gastroenteritis in children 0 to 14 years of ageud were reviewed in the period 2003–2005 in the province ofud Ferrara.ud Results A total of 4,238 children were admitted to theud pediatric departments; 151 patients were diagnosed withud rotavirus gastroenteritis. The average annual rate ofud hospitalization for rotavirus gastroenteritis was 1.54/1,000ud children <14 years of age and 2.9/1,000 children <5 yearsud of age. Most hospitalizations (72%) involved children agedud <60 months. The average length of hospital stay was aboutud 5 days. Considering the Emilia Romagna regional reimbursementud codes referable to rotavirus disease, the estimatedud costs of our 151 cases range from €214,033 to €341,832.ud Conclusions The results of this study contribute to theud awareness of rotavirus epidemiology in Italy and underlineud the potential impact of rotavirus vaccination in ourud province