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Multicenter Study
. 2011 Nov;159(5):819-824.e1.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2011.05.005. Epub 2011 Jun 25.

Socioeconomic status and the likelihood of antibiotic treatment for signs and symptoms of pulmonary exacerbation in children with cystic fibrosis

Michael S Schechter  1 , Susanna A McColley, Warren Regelmann, Stefanie J Millar, David J Pasta, Jeffrey S Wagener, Michael W Konstan, Wayne J Morgan; Investigators and Coordinators of the Epidemiologic Study of Cystic Fibrosis
Collaborators, Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Socioeconomic status and the likelihood of antibiotic treatment for signs and symptoms of pulmonary exacerbation in children with cystic fibrosis

Michael S Schechter et al. J Pediatr. 2011 Nov.

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether socioeconomic status (SES) influences the likelihood of antibiotic treatment of pulmonary exacerbations in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF).

Study design: We used data on 9895 patients ≤ 18 years old from the Epidemiologic Study of CF. After establishing an individual baseline of clinical signs and symptoms, we ascertained whether antibiotics were prescribed when new signs/symptoms suggested a pulmonary exacerbation, adjusting for sex, presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the number of new signs/symptoms, and baseline disease severity.

Results: In a 12-month period, 20.0% of patients <6 years of age, 33.8% of patients 6 to 12 years of age, and 41.4% of patients 13 to 18 years of age were treated with any (oral, intravenous (IV), or inhaled) antibiotics; the percentage receiving IV antibiotics was 7.3%, 15.2%, and 20.9%, respectively. SES had little effect on treatment for pulmonary exacerbation with any antibiotics, but IV antibiotics were prescribed more frequently for patients with lower SES.

Conclusions: SES-related disparities in CF health outcomes do not appear to be explained by differential treatment of pulmonary exacerbations.

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References

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