Estimating the Burden of Medically Attended Norovirus Gastroenteritis: Modeling Linked Primary Care and Hospitalization Datasets

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Thomas Verstraeten, P95 Pharmacovigilance and Epidemiology; Tom Cattaert, P95 Pharmacovigilance and Epidemiology; John Harris, University of Liverpool; Benjamin Lopman, Emory University; Clarence C. Tam, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Germano Ferreira, P95 Pharmacovigilance and Epidemiology
• Language: English
• Date: 2017-10-15
• Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP): Policy B - Oxford Open Option C
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jix410
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of Infectious Diseases
• ISSN: 0022-1899
• Volume: 216
• Issue: 8
• Start Page: 957
• End Page: 965
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was funded by a grant of the Agency for Innovation through Science and Technology (IWT) from the Flemish region government, Belgium (IWT 150274) and P95 Epidemiology and Pharmacovigilance Consulting and Services.
• Keywords: RATES; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; COMMUNITY; Immunology; Microbiology; IMPACT; Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD); UNITED-KINGDOM; UK; electronic health records; INFECTIOUS INTESTINAL DISEASE; Infectious Diseases; Science & Technology; ENGLAND; Hospital Episode Statistics (HES); GENERAL-PRACTICE; gastroenteritis; norovirus
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

Background Norovirus is the leading cause of community-acquired and nosocomial acute gastroenteritis. Routine testing for norovirus is seldom undertaken, and diagnosis is mainly based on presenting symptoms. This makes understanding the burden of medically attended norovirus-attributable gastroenteritis (MA-NGE) and targeting care and prevention strategies challenging. Methods We used linked population-based healthcare datasets (Clinical Practice Research Datalink General Practice OnLine Database linked with Hospital Episode Statistics Admitted Patient Care) to model the incidence of MA-NGE associated with primary care consultations or hospitalizations according to age groups in England in the period July 2007-June 2013. Results Mean annual incidence rates of MA-NGE were 4.9/1000 person-years and 0.7/1000 person-years for episodes involving primary care or hospitalizations, respectively. Incidence rates were highest in children aged < 5 years: 34.0 consultations/1000 person-years and 3.3 hospitalizations/1000 person-years. Medically attended norovirus-attributable gastroenteritis hospitalization rates were second highest in adults aged > 65 years (1.7/1000 person-years). Conclusions In this particular study, the burden of MA-NGE estimated from healthcare datasets was higher than previously estimated in small cohort studies in England. Routinely collected primary care and hospitalization datasets are useful resources to estimate and monitor the burden of MA-NGE in a population over time.