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Original Article
Volume 342:225-231 January 27, 2000 Number 4
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The Effect of Influenza on Hospitalizations, Outpatient Visits, and Courses of Antibiotics in Children
Kathleen Maletic Neuzil, M.D., M.P.H., Beverly G. Mellen, Ph.D., Peter F. Wright, M.D., Edward F. Mitchel, M.S., and Marie R. Griffin, M.D., M.P.H.

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ABSTRACT

Background Despite high annual rates of influenza in children, influenza vaccines are given to children infrequently. We measured the disease burden of influenza in a large cohort of healthy children in the Tennessee Medicaid program who were younger than 15 years of age.

Methods We determined the rates of hospitalization for acute cardiopulmonary conditions, outpatient visits, and courses of antibiotics over a period of 19 consecutive years. Using the differences in the rates of these events when influenzavirus was circulating and the rates from November through April when there was no influenza in the community, we calculated morbidity attributable to influenza. There was a total of 2,035,143 person-years of observation.

Results During periods when influenzavirus was circulating, the average number of hospitalizations for cardiopulmonary conditions in excess of the expected number was 104 per 10,000 children per year for children younger than 6 months of age, 50 per 10,000 per year for those 6 months to less than 12 months, 19 per 10,000 per year for those 1 year to less than 3 years, 9 per 10,000 per year for those 3 years to less than 5 years, and 4 per 10,000 per year for those 5 years to less than 15 years. For every 100 children, an annual average of 6 to 15 outpatient visits and 3 to 9 courses of antibiotics were attributable to influenza. In winter, 10 to 30 percent of the excess number of courses of antibiotics occurred during periods when influenzavirus was circulating.

Conclusions Healthy children younger than one year of age are hospitalized for illness attributable to influenza at rates similar to those for adults at high risk for influenza. The rate of hospitalization decreases markedly with age. Influenza accounts for a substantial number of outpatient visits and courses of antibiotics in children of all ages. (N Engl J Med 2000; 342:225-31.)


Source Information

From the Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, Puget Sound Health Care System — both in Seattle (K.M.N.); and the Departments of Preventive Medicine (B.G.M., E.F.M., M.R.G.), Pediatrics (P.F.W.), and Medicine (M.R.G.), Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Neuzil at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Puget Sound Health Care System, Division of Infectious Diseases 111, 1660 S. Columbian Way, Seattle, WA 98108-1595, or at kneuzil{at}u.washington.edu.

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Related Letters:

Influenza and Hospitalizations in Children
Glezen W. P., Neuzil K. M., Griffin M. R., Wright P. F., Izurieta H. S., Thompson W. W., Shay D. K.
Extract | Full Text  
N Engl J Med 2000; 342:1752-1753, Jun 8, 2000. Correspondence

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