Impact of oral human rotavirus vaccine on hospitalization rates for children

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the risk of hospitalization for acute diarrhea in children under five,in the period of ten years before and after the oral rotavirus vaccine. Methods: Eco-descriptive-analyticstudy of the rates of hospitalization for acute diarrhea. We used hospitalization rate and the Relative Variation Rate to quantify the difference between the median in the years pre- andpostvaccination. We used logistic regression, odds ratio and attributable risk to assess for the proportion of cases that could be avoided if exposure was avoided. Results: During the study period, the hospitalization rate was 117.41 per 10,000 children. In the prevaccination period, the median rate of hospitalization was 124.2/10,000 children. After the introduction of the vaccine, hospitalization rates were lower when compared to the median of the pre-vaccination years. Conclusion: There was a reduction in the hospitalization rates for acute diarrhea, thereby suggesting that the use of the vaccine and other associated factors can reduce the number of cases.