Distribution of variables by antibiotic prescription for RTI visits in children
| VARIABLE | FULL DATA SET* | SAMPLE OF 1 VISIT PER CHILD* | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALL VISITS (N = 2 996 186)† | ASSOCIATED WITH AN ANTIBIOTIC PRESCRIPTION (N = 834 673)‡ | NOT ASSOCIATED WITH AN ANTIBIOTIC PRESCRIPTION (N = 2 161 513)‡ | ALL VISITS (N = 671 342)† | ASSOCIATED WITH AN ANTIBIOTIC PRESCRIPTION (N = 183 118)‡ | NOT ASSOCIATED WITH AN ANTIBIOTIC PRESCRIPTION (N = 488 224)‡ | |
| Overall population, % | 100.0 | 27.9 | 72.1 | 100.0 | 27.3 | 72.7 |
| Year, % | ||||||
| • 2005 | 11.3 | 30.3 | 69.7 | 13.2 | 31.6 | 68.4 |
| • 2006 | 15.4 | 29.4 | 70.6 | 16.2 | 30.6 | 69.4 |
| • 2007 | 14.7 | 28.5 | 71.6 | 13.7 | 28.9 | 71.1 |
| • 2008 | 14.1 | 28.8 | 71.2 | 12.6 | 28.4 | 71.6 |
| • 2009 | 16.9 | 22.9 | 77.2 | 16.1 | 21.2 | 78.9 |
| • 2010 | 13.1 | 28.0 | 72.0 | 12.2 | 25.8 | 74.3 |
| • 2011 | 14.6 | 28.6 | 71.5 | 16.1 | 25.4 | 74.6 |
| Patient-level factors | ||||||
| Patient sex | ||||||
| • Female, % | 47.5 | 27.9 | 72.1 | 48.9 | 27.3 | 72.7 |
| • Male, % | 52.5 | 27.8 | 72.2 | 51.2 | 27.3 | 72.7 |
| • Missing, n | 2 | NA | NA | 1 | NA | NA |
| Median (IQR) patient age, y | 4 (2–9) | 6 (3–10) | 4 (1–8) | 6 (2–11) | 8 (4–12) | 5 (1–10) |
| • Missing, n | 2 | NA | NA | 2 | NA | NA |
| Follow-up RTI visit,§ % | 14.0 | 24.6 | 75.5 | 7.9 | 24.3 | 75.8 |
| QAIPPE | ||||||
| • 1 (lowest), % | 22.2 | 28.6 | 71.4 | 20.4 | 27.6 | 72.4 |
| • 2, % | 22.7 | 28.7 | 71.3 | 20.9 | 27.8 | 72.2 |
| • 3, % | 20.0 | 27.6 | 72.4 | 20.5 | 27.3 | 72.7 |
| • 4, % | 18.2 | 26.9 | 73.1 | 20 | 26.9 | 73.1 |
| • 5 (highest), % | 15.7 | 27.1 | 72.9 | 18.2 | 26.7 | 73.3 |
| • Missing, n | 38 224 | NA | NA | 9157 | NA | NA |
| Diabetes, % | 0.2 | 33.1 | 66.9 | 0.2 | 33.3 | 66.7 |
| Asthma, % | 12.4 | 31.5 | 68.5 | 8.1 | 31.1 | 68.9 |
| Cystic fibrosis, % | 0.2 | 18.6 | 81.4 | 0.1 | 17.7 | 82.3 |
| Immune deficiency, % | 0.2 | 30.2 | 69.8 | 0.2 | 28.7 | 71.3 |
| Chronic liver disease, % | < 0.1 | 27.8 | 72.2 | 0.0 | 26.4 | 73.6 |
| Congestive heart failure, % | < 0.1 | 27.2 | 72.8 | 0.0 | 22.9 | 77.1 |
| COPD, % | 0.5 | 31.5 | 68.5 | 0.3 | 31.4 | 68.7 |
| Chronic kidney disease, % | 0.1 | 28.7 | 71.4 | 0.1 | 28.5 | 71.6 |
| Recent antibiotic use,‖ % | 9.1 | 24.5 | 75.5 | 9.4 | 24.1 | 75.9 |
| Median (IQR) ADG sum | 4 (2–5) | 4 (2–5) | 4 (2–5) | 3 (2–5) | 3 (2–4) | 3 (2–5) |
| • Missing, n | 9 | NA | NA | 2 | NA | NA |
| Visits in past 3 y with this physician, % | ||||||
| • 0 | 36.6 | 28.6 | 71.4 | 46.8 | 28.7 | 71.3 |
| • ≤ 30 (but > 0) | 30.2 | 28.6 | 71.4 | 25.5 | 27.9 | 72.1 |
| • > 30 | 33.2 | 26.3 | 73.7 | 27.8 | 24.4 | 75.6 |
| Median (IQR) no. of different GPs seen in past 3 y | 5 (3–7) | 5 (3–8) | 5 (3–7) | 4 (2–6) | 4 (2–6) | 4 (2–6) |
| Season, % | ||||||
| • Mar–May | 24.2 | 29.1 | 70.9 | 24.5 | 29.0 | 71.0 |
| • Jun–Aug | 15.0 | 29.5 | 70.5 | 14.5 | 29.7 | 70.3 |
| • Sep–Nov | 29.3 | 25.4 | 74.6 | 28.8 | 24.0 | 76.0 |
| • Dec–Feb | 31.5 | 28.4 | 71.6 | 32.3 | 27.8 | 72.3 |
| Physician-level factors | ||||||
| Physicians, n | 6404 | NA | NA | 6148 | NA | NA |
| Physician sex | ||||||
| • Female, % | 27.7 | 23.5 | 76.6 | 28.3 | 23.0 | 77.0 |
| • Male, % | 72.3 | 29.5 | 70.5 | 71.7 | 28.9 | 71.1 |
| • Missing, n | 10 398 | NA | NA | 1910 | NA | NA |
| Specialty, % | ||||||
| • Emergency medicine physician | 0.6 | 25.1 | 74.9 | 0.7 | 25.2 | 74.8 |
| • Pediatrician | 2.9 | 11.2 | 88.8 | 2.4 | 12.8 | 87.2 |
| • Other | 0.8 | 41.8 | 58.2 | 0.7 | 40.7 | 59.3 |
| • GP | 95.7 | 28.3 | 71.7 | 96.2 | 27.6 | 72.5 |
| Visits for RTIs in the past 30 d, % | ||||||
| • None | 0.6 | 20.4 | 79.6 | 0.7 | 21.0 | 79.0 |
| • ≤ 2.5 | 5.7 | 21.7 | 78.3 | 6.9 | 22.1 | 77.9 |
| • > 2.5–5 | 14.7 | 24.4 | 75.6 | 16.8 | 24.7 | 75.3 |
| • > 5–7.5 | 16.5 | 26.0 | 74.0 | 17.8 | 26.2 | 73.8 |
| • > 7.5–10 | 14.8 | 27.9 | 72.2 | 14.8 | 27.4 | 72.6 |
| • > 10–15 | 22.1 | 29.9 | 70.1 | 20.6 | 29.3 | 70.7 |
| • > 15–20 | 14.0 | 31.9 | 68.1 | 12.2 | 30.9 | 69.1 |
| • > 20 | 11.7 | 29.4 | 70.6 | 10.2 | 28.7 | 71.3 |
| Medical school graduation location | ||||||
| • Canada, % | 62.1 | 24.3 | 75.8 | 64.1 | 23.8 | 76.2 |
| • International, % | 37.9 | 33.8 | 66.2 | 36.0 | 33.4 | 66.6 |
| • Missing, n | 70 648 | NA | NA | 15 683 | NA | NA |
| Daily patient volume,¶ % | ||||||
| • 1st quartile (< 28 visits) | 22.8 | 23.2 | 76.9 | 25.3 | 23.3 | 76.7 |
| • 2nd quartile (28–37 visits) | 24.9 | 26.4 | 73.6 | 26.6 | 26.2 | 73.8 |
| • 3rd quartile (38–48 visits) | 26.0 | 28.9 | 71.1 | 25.7 | 28.7 | 71.3 |
| • 4th quartile (> 48 visits) | 26.3 | 32.3 | 67.7 | 22.4 | 31.4 | 68.6 |
| Years since medical school graduation | ||||||
| • 0–5, % | 4.6 | 21.8 | 78.2 | 5.2 | 20.8 | 79.3 |
| • 6–10, % | 9.3 | 22.1 | 77.9 | 9.8 | 22.4 | 77.6 |
| • 11–15, % | 13.0 | 24.0 | 76.0 | 13.4 | 24.3 | 75.7 |
| • 16–20, % | 18.5 | 26.9 | 73.1 | 18.2 | 27.0 | 73.1 |
| • 21–25, % | 16.8 | 28.7 | 71.3 | 16.5 | 27.7 | 72.3 |
| • 26–30, % | 13.9 | 30.0 | 70.0 | 13.7 | 29.3 | 70.7 |
| • 31–35, % | 11.9 | 30.7 | 69.3 | 11.6 | 29.7 | 70.3 |
| • 36–40, % | 7.4 | 30.7 | 69.3 | 7.2 | 29.7 | 70.3 |
| • > 40, % | 4.7 | 39.1 | 60.9 | 4.5 | 37.9 | 62.1 |
| • Missing, n | 4032 | NA | NA | 1050 | NA | NA |
| No. of RTIs seen in the past y, % | ||||||
| • 1st quartile (≤ 248) | 20.4 | 20.8 | 79.2 | 24.8 | 21.5 | 78.5 |
| • 2nd quartile (249–490) | 22.2 | 25.6 | 74.5 | 25.1 | 25.9 | 74.1 |
| • 3rd quartile (491–972) | 25.2 | 28.2 | 71.8 | 25.0 | 28.5 | 71.5 |
| • 4th quartile (≥ 973) | 32.2 | 33.7 | 66.4 | 25.0 | 33.2 | 66.8 |
| Regional-level factors | ||||||
| Median (IQR) proportion of LHA population aged > 65 y | 0.13 (0.10–10.15) | 0.13 (0.10–0.15) | 0.13 (0.11–0.15) | 0.13 (0.11–0.16) | 0.13 (0.10–0.16) | 0.13 (0.11–0.16) |
| Median (IQR) proportion of LHA population aged < 15 y | 0.18 (0.16–0.21) | 0.19 (0.17–0.22) | 0.18 (0.16–0.21) | 0.18 (0.16–0.21) | 0.19 (0.16–0.21) | 0.18 (0.16–0.21) |
| Median (IQR) age of LHA population, y | 39 (36–41) | 38 (35–41) | 39 (37–41) | 39 (37–42) | 39 (37–41) | 39 (37–42) |
| Health authority | ||||||
| • Interior, % | 11.8 | 27.8 | 72.2 | 14.5 | 28.0 | 72.1 |
| • Fraser, % | 46.3 | 29.6 | 70.4 | 41.3 | 28.5 | 71.5 |
| • Vancouver Coastal, % | 23.2 | 22.4 | 77.6 | 22.3 | 21.9 | 78.1 |
| • Vancouver Island, % | 12.2 | 26.4 | 73.6 | 14.3 | 26.5 | 73.5 |
| • Northern, % | 6.5 | 37.5 | 62.5 | 7.5 | 36.6 | 63.4 |
| • Missing, n | 4689 | NA | NA | 1251 | NA | NA |
| Median (IQR) 28-d moving average apparent temperature, °C | 4.73 (0.57–11.76) | 4.62 (0.33–12.14) | 4.77 (0.66–11.57) | 4.49 (0.36–11.50) | 4.42 (0.17–12.14) | 4.52 (0.43–11.24) |
ADG—aggregated diagnosis group, COPD—chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, IQR—interquartile range, LHA—local health area, NA—not applicable, QAIPPE—Quintile of Annual Income Per Person Equivalent, RTI—respiratory tract infection.
↵* Not all percentages add to 100 owing to rounding.
↵† Overall values.
↵‡ Within-category values.
↵§ A follow-up visit is any visit within 14 d of another RTI visit.
↵‖ Recent antibiotic use is any antibiotic prescription within the past 6 mo.
↵¶ Daily patient volume is the total number of claims billed on the RTI visit day.