Valet 2013
Year: 2013
Title: Increased healthcare resource utilization for acute respiratory illness among Latino infants
Country: United States
Age: Pediatric Only
Sex: All Sexes
Population: Multiple Groups
Care Setting: Inpatient and Outpatient
Clinical Setting: General Diagnostic Imaging
Data Level: Single Institution
Data Type: Disease Registry
Data Source: Tennessee Childrens Respiratory Initiative
Conclusion: Disparities In All Minority Groups
Health OutComes Reported: No
Mitigation: No
Free Text Conclusion: White patients were more likely to receive a chest x-ray for acute respiratory illness than Latino and Black children.
Abstract: Objective: To examine healthcare resource utilization for acute respiratory illness in Latino infants compared with other racial/ethnic groups. Study design: We studied 674 term-born, previously healthy infants brought in for an unscheduled healthcare visit for an acute respiratory illness. The predictor variable was infant race/ethnicity, and the primary outcome was healthcare resource utilization, adjusted for age and disease severity. Results: The cohort was 14% Latino, 52% white, 22% African American, and 12% other race/ethnicity. More than one-third (37%) of the mothers of Latino infants were Spanish-speaking. The bronchiolitis severity score was higher (indicating more severe disease) in white infants (median, 6.0; IQR, 3.0-9.0 on a scale of 0-12) compared with Latino (median, 3.0; IQR, 1.0-6.0) and African American (median, 3.5; IQR, 1.0-6.0) infants (P <.001 for the comparison of all groups). Disease severity was similar in Latino and African American infants (P =.96). Latino infants were the most likely to receive antibiotics (58%, compared with 47% of whites and 34% of African Americans; P =.005) and to have body fluid cultures drawn. Latino infants also were more likely than African American infants to undergo chest radiography and respiratory virus rapid antigen testing (P .01). Latino infants from Spanish-speaking families had a higher rate of respiratory syncytial virus testing compared with those from English-speaking families (76% vs 51%; P =.016). Conclusion: Providers caring for Latino infants with acute respiratory illness ordered more antibiotics and diagnostic testing for this group, particularly compared with African Americans, even though the 2 groups had similar disease severity and socioeconomic disparities. Language barrier may be a possible explanation for these differences.