RESUMO
We hypothesized that families who are nonadherent to the routine vaccination schedule (RVS) present less frequently for physician visits. We conducted a retrospective chart review to compare the number of visits made over the subsequent 12-month period by families that refused the RVS versus those who were adherent. Subjects were aged 0 to 4 years, enrolled to Keller Army Hospital, and had a diagnosis indicating the RVS was refused. Age-matched controls, who were adherent to the RVS, were randomly chosen for each case. Subjects made significantly more total visits than CASES: 7 (interquartile range [IQR] = 1-20) versus 6 (IQR = 2-17), p = 0.0049. When each visit type was compared independently, there was no significant difference in the number of acute (p = 0.494) or emergency department (p = 0.077) visits between groups. However, subjects who refused to follow the RVS made significantly fewer routine care visits during the 1-year follow-up period compared to those that adhered to the RVS (p < 0.001).
