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- Publisher Website: 10.1186/1471-2458-11-366
- Scopus: eid_2-s2.0-79956214171
- PMID: 21605371
- WOS: WOS:000291792200002
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Article: Hospitalizations for varicella in children and adolescents in a referral hospital in Hong Kong, 2004 to 2008: A time series study
Title | Hospitalizations for varicella in children and adolescents in a referral hospital in Hong Kong, 2004 to 2008: A time series study |
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Authors | |
Keywords | Time series study humidity cool season Child Chickenpox Varicella |
Issue Date | 2011 |
Citation | BMC Public Health, 2011, v. 11 How to Cite? |
Abstract | Background: Varicella accounts for significant morbidities and remains a public health issue worldwide. Climatic factors have been shown to associate with the incidence and transmission of various infectious diseases. We describe the epidemiology of varicella in paediatric patients hospitalized at a tertiary referral hospital in Hong Kong from 2004 to 2008, and to explore the possible association between the occurrence of varicella infection and various climatic factors. Methods. The hospital discharge database of Princess Margaret Hospital was retrospectively analyzed for admissions associated with varicella from 2004 to 2008. Meteorological data were obtained from the monthly meteorological reports from the Hong Kong Observatory website. Time series analysis was performed with Poisson regression using a Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) approach. Results: During the study period, 598 children were hospitalized for varicella. The mean age on admission was 57.6 months, and the mean duration of hospitalization was 3.7 days. The overall complication rate was 47%. The mean monthly relative humidity, especially in cool seasons, was inversely correlated with the monthly varicella cases of the same month. Conclusions: Varicella can lead to serious complications and prolonged hospitalization, even in previously healthy children. Lower relative humidity in cool seasons is associated with higher number of paediatric varicella hospital admissions. These findings are useful for a better understanding of the pattern of paediatric varicella hospitalization in Hong Kong. © 2011 Chan et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. |
Persistent Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/10722/207025 |
ISI Accession Number ID |
DC Field | Value | Language |
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dc.contributor.author | Chan, Johnnyyc | - |
dc.contributor.author | Tian, Linwei | - |
dc.contributor.author | Kwan, Yatwah | - |
dc.contributor.author | Chan, WaiMing | - |
dc.contributor.author | Leung, Chiwai | - |
dc.date.accessioned | 2014-12-09T04:31:16Z | - |
dc.date.available | 2014-12-09T04:31:16Z | - |
dc.date.issued | 2011 | - |
dc.identifier.citation | BMC Public Health, 2011, v. 11 | - |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10722/207025 | - |
dc.description.abstract | Background: Varicella accounts for significant morbidities and remains a public health issue worldwide. Climatic factors have been shown to associate with the incidence and transmission of various infectious diseases. We describe the epidemiology of varicella in paediatric patients hospitalized at a tertiary referral hospital in Hong Kong from 2004 to 2008, and to explore the possible association between the occurrence of varicella infection and various climatic factors. Methods. The hospital discharge database of Princess Margaret Hospital was retrospectively analyzed for admissions associated with varicella from 2004 to 2008. Meteorological data were obtained from the monthly meteorological reports from the Hong Kong Observatory website. Time series analysis was performed with Poisson regression using a Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) approach. Results: During the study period, 598 children were hospitalized for varicella. The mean age on admission was 57.6 months, and the mean duration of hospitalization was 3.7 days. The overall complication rate was 47%. The mean monthly relative humidity, especially in cool seasons, was inversely correlated with the monthly varicella cases of the same month. Conclusions: Varicella can lead to serious complications and prolonged hospitalization, even in previously healthy children. Lower relative humidity in cool seasons is associated with higher number of paediatric varicella hospital admissions. These findings are useful for a better understanding of the pattern of paediatric varicella hospitalization in Hong Kong. © 2011 Chan et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. | - |
dc.language | eng | - |
dc.relation.ispartof | BMC Public Health | - |
dc.rights | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. | - |
dc.subject | Time series study | - |
dc.subject | humidity | - |
dc.subject | cool season | - |
dc.subject | Child | - |
dc.subject | Chickenpox | - |
dc.subject | Varicella | - |
dc.title | Hospitalizations for varicella in children and adolescents in a referral hospital in Hong Kong, 2004 to 2008: A time series study | - |
dc.type | Article | - |
dc.description.nature | published_or_final_version | - |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1186/1471-2458-11-366 | - |
dc.identifier.pmid | 21605371 | - |
dc.identifier.scopus | eid_2-s2.0-79956214171 | - |
dc.identifier.volume | 11 | - |
dc.identifier.eissn | 1471-2458 | - |
dc.identifier.isi | WOS:000291792200002 | - |
dc.identifier.issnl | 1471-2458 | - |