The epidemic characteristics and medical expense of hospitalized children with hand, foot, and mouth disease in a tertiary hospital of Anqing city, Anhui Provence

Abstract

Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics and medical expenses of hospitalized children with hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) in a tertiary hospital of Anqing city, AnHui Provence, from 2014 to 2017. Methods The demographic information, clinical features and medical expenses of HFMD patients aged under 18 years old from 2014 to 2017 were collected through the medical record management system in a tertiary hospital in Anqing. Trend chi-square test was used to compare the constituent ratio of severe HFMD children among different years. Mann-whitney U test was used to compare the differences of hospitalization days and medical expense of HFMD children with various conditions. Results A total of 4 151 cases of children with HFMD were reported in the tertiary hospital from 2014 to 2017, including 233 severe cases and 3 fatal cases. The annual ratios of the severe cases were decreasing (P<0.01). The peak periods of HFMD were from April to July and September to November. The HFMD patients were mainly scattered children under 5 years old. The medical expense of HFMD was high, with a median value of 1 604.2 RMB per person. Both hospitalization days and medical expenses among severe cases were higher than that among mild cases (P<0.01). Conclusions The epidemic periods of HFMD in Anqing city were from April to July and from September to November, with high prevalence intensity in densely populated areas. Scatter children under 5 years old were mainly affected. In addition, the medical expenses incurred by HFMD cases were high. Key words: Hand, foot, and mouth disease; Child; Hospitalization; Epidemiology; Medical expense