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Differences noted in antibiotic prescriptions among races
Black children were less likely to receive an antibiotic and to be diagnosed with infections requiring an antibiotic compared with children of other races, according to results of a study published online recently.
Jeffrey S. Gerber, MD, PhD, of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and colleagues used health records of 222 clinicians working at 25 offices in the Philadelphia area to compare how children of different races were diagnosed and treated for acute visits.
Jeffrey S. Gerber
The researchers reported that although black children saw a clinician only about once per year for an acute issue compared with twice per year for children of other races, they were less likely to receive an antibiotic from the same clinician.
Gerber and colleagues also said black children were less likely to be diagnosed with conditions that would necessitate antibiotics, such as acute otitis media and sinusitis, than children of other races. And when diagnosed with one of these illnesses, black children were less likely to receive second-line (or broach-spectrum) antibiotics than non-black children.
“These results were surprising, given that our analyses compared antibiotic prescribing by patient race within the same clinician, controlling for patient demographics, health status, and insurance type,” Gerber told Infectious Diseases in Children.
The researchers urged further study into why the differences exist in antibiotic prescription rates.
Jeffrey S. Gerber, MD, PhD, can be reached at the Division of Infectious Diseases, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 3535 Market St, Ste 1518, Philadelphia, PA 19104; email: gerberj@email.chop.edu.
Disclosure: Gerber reports no relevant financial disclosures.
