A national study of the epidemiology of pneumococcal disease among hospitalised patients in Singapore: 1995 to 2004

Low S, Chan FLF, Cutter J, Ma S, Goh KT, Chew SK
Correspondence: Dr Serena Low, lowkiatmun@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT
Introduction Infections with Streptococcus pneumoniae cause significant morbidity and mortality. In this study, we describe the epidemiology of pneumococcal disease based on hospitalisation rates for all age groups in Singapore. This is important for evaluating prevention and control strategies of pneumococcal disease.
Methods We conducted a retrospective study of hospitalisation cases admitted to all public and private hospitals from 1995 to 2004. 4,275 hospitalisation records were extracted, based on the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes for pneumococcal disease. We analysed the demographics, type of pneumococcal disease, length of stay and case fatality of these cases.
Results Our study showed that the mean annual hospitalisation rate for pneumococcal disease was 10.9 per 100,000 population from 1995 to 2004. The mean annual hospitalisation rate was highest in the young and the elderly.
Conclusion Baseline information on the epidemiology of pneumococcal disease is important for the formulation and evaluation of a national prevention and control programme.

Keywords: International Classification of Diseases, pneumonia, pneumococcal disease, Streptococcus pneumoniae
Singapore Med J 2007; 48(9): 824–829