Well-child checkups are important for assessing the health, growth, and development of children and for administering life-saving vaccinations. However, new research published in the March issue of the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, suggests that well-child appointments are linked to an increased risk of flu-like illnesses in children and family members within two weeks of the visit. More specifically, the present research estimates that routine well-child checkups are associated with 700,000 potentially avoidable illnesses annually at a cost of more than $490. States lead author, Phil Polgreen, MD, MPH:
“Well child visits are critically important. However, our results demonstrate that healthcare professionals should devote more attention to reducing the risk of spreading infections in waiting rooms and clinics. Infection control guidelines currently exist. To increase patient safety in outpatient settings, more attention should be paid to these guidelines by healthcare professionals, patients, and their families.”
For the study, researchers from the University of Iowa analyzed data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to examine trends in healthcare of 84,595 families between 1996 and 2008. Data included demographic information and office-based, emergency room, and outpatient case records. After accounting for compounding factors, the researchers discovered that well-baby checkups for children under the age of 6 increased the probability of a flu-like illness in both the children and their families during the two weeks following the routine appointment. Writes Lisa Saiman, MD, in a commentary accompanying the study, “The true cost of flu-like illnesses are much higher since only a fraction result in ambulatory visits and many more cases are likely to result in missed work or school days. Furthermore, these flu-like illness visits are associated with inappropriate antimicrobial use.” Noting the importance of well-child doctor visits, the researchers also stress the importance of infection prevention and control in health care settings including improving environmental cleaning, cough etiquette, and hand hygiene compliance. Concludes Polgreen, “Even with interventions, such as the restricted use of communal toys or separate sick and well-child waiting areas, if hand-hygiene compliance is poor, and potentially infectious patients are not wearing masks, preventable infections will continue to occur.” Parents can help stop the spread of flu-like illnesses by separating sick children from well children and ensuring that children follow handwashing procedures, among other preventions. References Well-Child Visits Linked to More Than 700,000 Subsequent Flu-Like Illnesses: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-02/sfhe-wvl021214.php Image Credits Well-Child Checkup: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Providing_check-ups_for_newborn_children_at_a_Save_the_Children_clinic_in_Lebanons_Bekaa_Valley_(11174159186).jpg
