Background: Previous studies found conflicting results about the effect of rotavirus (RV) vaccination on seizure hospitalizations in children younger than 5 years old.
Objectives: To evaluate the evidence of the impact of RV vaccination on the prevention of seizure hospitalizations in children.
Methods: A systematic review was conducted in the electronic database MEDLINE of all observational studies in children younger than 5 years old published since 2006. Two reviewers performed title/abstract, full-text review, and data extraction.
Results: Thirteen studies met eligibility criteria. Nine studies reported a significant reduction in seizure hospitalizations upon RV vaccine introduction, three studies reported an absence of significant impact, and one study reported a significant rise in seizure hospitalization after the introduction of RV vaccines.
Limitations: The great variability between study designs, case definitions and potential biases prevent quantifying the impact of RV vaccination against seizure hospitalizations.
Conclusions: RV vaccination might prevent seizure hospitalizations in children; however, robust, and well-designed studies are needed to better determine the strength of this association.
Keywords: Rotavirus; Rotavirus vaccines; children; convusions; seizures.
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