Work

Analysis of the Pediatric Health Information System Database as a Surveillance Tool for Travel-Associated Infectious Diseases

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: The Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database collects admission, diagnostic, and treatment data among 44 children's hospitals across the United States (U.S.) and presents an opportunity for travel-associated infectious disease (TAID) surveillance. We calculated cumulative incidence rates among children admitted to 16 PHIS hospitals for dengue, malaria, and typhoid, and pooled TAID using discharge codes from 1999 to 2012. We compared incidence rates before, during, and after the 2007-2009 economic recession. Among 16 PHIS hospitals during the study period (1999-2012), incidence of dengue and pooled TAID (malaria, dengue, typhoid fever) increased significantly, and rates of malaria and typhoid trended upward. Admissions for dengue and pooled TAIDs increased significantly among 16 children's hospitals across the United States from 1999 to 2012. The PHIS database may provide a useful surveillance tool for TAIDs among children in the United States.

Source: American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.14-0794

Authors: Daniel Olson, Meghan Birkholz, James T. Gaensbauer, Edwin J. Asturias, James K. Todd

Institutions: Children's Hospital Colorado, University of Colorado Anschutz

Language: English

Topic: Travel-related health issues

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences