1 Permanente Clinic and Health Services Research Center, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, Portland, Oregon
The incidence of infectious disease was recorded in infants under 2 years of age following clinic visits for health supervision.
The infants were randomly assigned to clinics especially reserved for well babies and clinics where well and sick babies and children were mixed.
No difference in incidence of infection during a 30-day post-clinic visit period was noted.
Also, the onset of illnesses was scattered over the 30-day period in both groups and not clustered within a few days following the visit, as would be expected if the infections were contracted at the clinic.
It is concluded that the infectious disease risk of a health supervision visit under conditions of ordinary office and clinic pediatric practice is not sufficiently great to warrant special isolation precautions.
Submitted on January 16, 1970