ROTAVIRUS GASTROENTERITIS - IMPACT ON YOUNG-CHILDREN, THEIR FAMILIES AND THE HEALTH-CARE SYSTEM

Objective: To assess the impact of rotavirus gastroenteritis on young children attending a paediatric hospital, their families and the healt h care system. Design: Cross-sectional descriptive survey. Setting: Ne w Children's Hospital (Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children), Sydney, New South Wales, 15 July to 4 October 1996. Participants: Children ag ed under three years attending the Emergency Department with acute dia rrhoea as the presenting symptom. Outcome measures: Cases of rotavirus infection confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay by age; rota virus serotype; gastroenteritis severity score; estimated costs to par ents (lost pay or leave, travel, medication and other expenses) and to the health care system (visits to Emergency Department and other heal th care workers, hospital admissions). Results: 280 children were recr uited (73% of 384 children who met the inclusion criteria and 27% of t he 1037 aged under three years with acute gastroenteritis). Rotavirus was detected in 188 of the 280 (67%); most isolates were serotype G1 ( 86% of the 174 serotyped). Of the 188 children with confirmed rotaviru s infection 78% were aged 7-24 months and 82% visited at least one oth er health care worker, usually a general practitioner. Seventy (37% of the 188) were admitted to hospital; 33 of these (47%) were aged 13-24 months. Estimated mean total cost per episode of rotavirus gastroente ritis was $1744 for children admitted to hospital and $441 for childre n not admitted. The mean cost to families was $493 for children admitt ed to hospital and $228 for children not admitted. Conclusions: Rotavi rus gastroenteritis has a significant impact on young children, their families and the health care system. Prevention of severe disease thro ugh routine infant vaccination would be potentially cost-effective.