By including data obtained over consecutive years annual variability in the incidence of intussusception could be observed. However, during the period of implementation of a new vaccine into a National Immunisation Program, the number of infants at risk from a vaccine-associated adverse event will change as vaccine uptake increases. Therefore, the calculation of incidence rate of intussusception in the period before, during and after successful implementation of a new vaccine will require assessment of vaccine uptake in order to assess the cohort

at-risk of a vaccine related adverse event such as intussusception. In Australia, the implementation of rotavirus vaccines was prompt with 87% of all eligible Australian infants received at least one dose of a rotavirus vaccine before 4 months of age, with 84% of these children completing a course of 2 or 3 doses according to the recommended schedule during the first

18-month period Everolimus research buy from rotavirus vaccine introduction [18]. The season when vaccine is introduced may also influence the estimate of benefit of vaccination in the early introduction period as it impacts on the proportion of the at-risk population that had an opportunity to receive vaccine and therefore receive a potential benefit. The mean incidence rate ratio observed during this 8-year study period was similar as that observed at the same hospital using the same methodology during the period 1994–2001 (1.9–2.7 per 10,000 live births)[11]. A consistent but unexplained decrease in the number of IS cases has been observed over the past decade in studies from the USA and Denmark Selleckchem BIBW2992 [21] and [22]. One explanation postulated is the shift in the management

of intussusception from inpatient hospitalisations to short stay hospitalisations and outpatients settings [23]. In the present study all children entering the hospital, whether for short stay or emergency admissions are captured as hospitalisations by the Royal Children’s Hospital medical record system. Four cases were not born in Victoria but presented to RCH for diagnosis and treatment of intussusception during the study. As these infants presented sporadically over the 8 years of the study, they did not significantly impact on the incidence rate calculations based on the Victorian birth cohort and were included in the final secondly analysis. Changes in the population treated in sentinel sites due to migration (in or out of the region) or a change in the health seeking behaviour of the population may impact on assumptions used to base calculations of incidence. As patients presenting to a central specialised paediatric centre may travel from distant regions, sometimes in an unpredictable pattern, it may be difficult to determine the baseline population used in the calculation of incidence. In this study, the number of live births in the State of Victoria was used for the calculation of incidence.