Family Characteristics Associated with Likelihood of Varicella Vaccination.

Context: The introduction of the varicella vaccine as a routine pediatric immunization in the US, in 1995, provided an opportunity to assess factors associated with uptake of new vaccines in the member population of the Kaiser Permanente Northwest (KPNW) Health Plan.

Objective: Identify factors associated with varicella vaccination in the KPNW population in the first five years after varicella vaccine was introduced.

Design: A retrospective cohort of children under age 13 years between June 1995 and December 1999, without a history of varicella disease was identified using KPNW automated data.

Positive Predictive Value of ICD-9 Code for Herpes Zoster Among Children During the Varicella Vaccine Era.

We examined the positive predictive value of the herpes zoster ICD-9 diagnosis code 053 in the Kaiser Permanente Northwest integrated health plan. Among children 0-17 years old, the positive predictive value was 87.1% (95% confidence interval: 84.

A Ten-Year Case-Control Study of Passive Smoke Exposure as a Risk Factor for Pertussis in Children.

The authors conducted a matched case-control study of laboratory-confirmed pertussis cases, occurring from 1/1/1996 to 12/31/2005, in children up to 12 years of age who were members of a large managed care organization. Sixty-five laboratoryconfirmed cases of pertussis were identified. Using multivariable conditional logistic regression analysis, the authors did not detect a statistically significant association between pertussis and household passive exposure to cigarette smoking.

Passive cigarette smoke exposure and other risk factors for invasive pneumococcal disease in children: a case-control study.

Objective: To investigate whether passive cigarette smoke exposure increases the risk of invasive pneumococcal disease in children.

Methods: In a population-based case-control study, 171 children aged 0 to 12 years with culture-confirmed invasive pneumococcal disease during the years 1994 to 2004 were identified. Two controls were matched to each case on age and patterns of Health Plan membership.

Wheezing lower respiratory disease and vaccination of premature infants.

Purpose: Premature infants are at increased risk of wheezing in association with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and rhinovirus infections. We assess possible associations between wheezing and routine vaccinations of premature infants.

Methods: We conducted a self-controlled case series (SCCS) study of premature infants born at five health maintenance organizations (HMO's) from 1997 to 2002 (N=18,628).