Table 1.
Patient and hospital characteristics and initial management among children with pneumonia treated with ceftriaxone alone relative to those treated with ceftriaxone in combination with a macrolide.
| Patient Characteristics | Ceftriaxone alone (n=8892) |
Ceftriaxone + macrolide (n=4701) |
p-value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | % | N | % | ||
| Gender (% male) | 4814 | 54.1 | 2574 | 54.8 | 0.49 |
| Age, yrs (median,IQR) | 3 (1–5) | 5 (2–8) | <0.001 | ||
| 1–4 yrs | 6308 | 70.9 | 2282 | 48.5 | <0.001 |
| 5–17 yrs | 2584 | 29.1 | 2419 | 51.5 | |
| Race/ethnicity | |||||
| White | 4414 | 49.6 | 2325 | 49.5 | <0.001 |
| Black | 1644 | 18.5 | 751 | 16.0 | |
| Hispanic | 1178 | 13.2 | 723 | 15.4 | |
| Other | 1656 | 18.6 | 902 | 19.2 | |
| Insurance status | |||||
| Public payer | 4605 | 51.8 | 2238 | 47.6 | <0.001 |
| Private payer | 3839 | 43.2 | 2210 | 47.0 | |
| Uninsured | 327 | 3.7 | 191 | 4.1 | |
| Unknown | 121 | 1.4 | 62 | 1.3 | |
| Admission during respiratory season | 5877 | 66.09 | 2972 | 63.22 | <0.001 |
| Comorbid conditions | |||||
| Asthma | 3605 | 40.5 | 2268 | 48.2 | <0.001 |
| Influenza | 474 | 5.3 | 220 | 4.7 | 0.10 |
| Fluid and electrolyte disorders | 2649 | 29.8 | 1149 | 24.4 | <0.001 |
| Hospital Characteristics | |||||
| Urban (vs rural) | 6993 | 78.6 | 3711 | 78.9 | 0.69 |
| Teaching status (vs non-teaching) | 3289 | 37.0 | 1517 | 32.3 | <0.001 |
| Bedsize | |||||
| <=200 beds | 1656 | 18.6 | 1001 | 21.3 | <0.001 |
| 201–400 beds | 3781 | 42.5 | 1708 | 36.3 | |
| 400+ beds | 3455 | 38.9 | 1992 | 42.4 | |
| Region | |||||
| Northeast | 1206 | 13.6 | 538 | 11.4 | <0.001 |
| Midwest | 1703 | 19.2 | 888 | 18.9 | |
| West | 1092 | 12.3 | 754 | 16.0 | |
| South | 4891 | 55.0 | 2521 | 53.6 | |
| Children's hospital (vs general community hospital) | 1996 | 22.4 | 1135 | 24.1 | 0.03 |
| Initial Investigations | |||||
| Blood culture | 6881 | 77.4 | 3629 | 77.2 | 0.80 |
| Chest x-ray | 7363 | 82.8 | 3928 | 83.6 | 0.27 |
| Chest ultrasound | 13 | 0.1 | 7 | 0.1 | 0.97 |
| Chest CT | 48 | 0.5 | 46 | 1.0 | <0.001 |
| Arterial blood gas | 226 | 2.5 | 166 | 3.5 | 0.001 |
| Acute phase reactants (ESR or CRP) | 1493 | 16.8 | 872 | 18.5 | 0.01 |
| Urine culture | 1404 | 15.8 | 570 | 12.1 | <0.001 |
| Lumbar puncture | 43 | 0.5 | 5 | 0.1 | <0.001 |
| Test for viral pathogens | 3177 | 35.7 | 1706 | 36.3 | 0.52 |
| Initial Adjunctive Therapies | |||||
| IV or oral steroids | 2610 | 29.4 | 1892 | 40.3 | <0.001 |
| Short-acting beta-agonists | 4966 | 55.9 | 3047 | 64.8 | <0.001 |
| Intravenous fluids | 5533 | 62.2 | 3225 | 68.6 | <0.001 |
| Chronic asthma medications | 1184 | 13.3 | 960 | 20.4 | <0.001 |
| Intensive care unit admission | 245 | 2.8 | 199 | 4.2 | <0.001 |
| Non-invasive ventilation | 46 | 0.52 | 23 | 0.49 | 0.83 |
| Intubation and ventilation | 11 | 0.12 | 6 | 0.13 | 0.95 |