Costs of pediatric community-acquired rotavirus gastroenteritis in Italy (Padua county). [Costi della gastroenterite da rotavirus acquisita in comunità in età pediatrica a Padova in Italia]

Background: Rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) has a major impact in terms of morbidity in Italy. Comprehensive data on the economic impact are needed in order to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a Rotavirus (RV) vaccination program. Methods: As part of a prospective observational study (REVEAL) conducted in 2004-2005 in seven European countries, we calculated the average costs per case with confirmed RVGE in primary care (PC), emergency room (ER), and hospital (H) settings, from both the national health care service and societal perspectives. Results: A total of 336 children <5 years with RVGE were included in the cost analysis. The total societal cost per child was € 292 in PC, € 600 in ER, and € 1,901 in the H setting. Overall total cost of community-acquired RVGE in the Veneto Region was estimated to be around 7 million €. Extrapolating the observed data to the whole Italian country, the total cost was estimated between 67.1-80 million € according to the estimates used. About 61% of the total costs were direct non-medical and indirect costs, mostly related to loss of productivity due to work days lost by parents and other caregivers. Conclusions: RVGE in Italy causes considerable costs in all healthcare settings for the national health care payer and families. An effective childhood vaccination program would have considerable direct and indirect benefits for the Italian society. © 2007 Adis Data Information BV