Spatiotemporal patterns of infant bronchiolitis in a Tennessee Medicaid population.

ABSTRACT: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of worldwide morbidity and mortality in infants, primarily through the induction of bronchiolitis. RSV epidemics are highly seasonal, occurring in the winter months in the northern hemisphere. Within the United States, RSV epidemic dynamics vary both spatially and temporally. This analysis employs a retrospective space–time scan statistic to locate spatiotemporal clustering of infant bronchiolitis in a very large Tennessee (TN) Medicaid cohort. We studied infants less than 6 months of age (N = 52,468 infants) who had an outpatient visit, emergency department visit, or hospitalization for bronchiolitis between 1995 and 2008. The scan statistic revealed distinctive and consistent patterns of deviation in epidemic timing. Eastern TN (Knoxvill

SUBMITTER: Sloan CD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3742041 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature