Cost of diarrhea-associated hospitalizations and outpatient visits in an insured population of young children in the United States

Abstract

To assess the financial and clinical burden of diarrhea- and rotavirus-associated disease among a population of privately insured US children. For the period 1993 through 1996, we analyzed medical claims data from a large, administrative database containing information on ∼300 000 children An annual average of 1186 diarrhea-associated hospitalizations (35 per 10 000 children Diarrhea is an important cause of morbidity in this insured population of young children. The epidemiologic features of diarrhea-associated events suggest that rotavirus is an important contributor to the overall morbidity from diarrhea. These disease burden and cost estimates should provide useful information with which to assess the costs and benefits of future interventions for rotavirus-associated illness.