Table 2.
Underlying characteristics of children with CF being treated at three levels of care in Australia
| Cystic Fibrosis Centre | Shared | Local | P‐value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of patients | 272 | 49 | 29 | |
| Gender | ||||
| Males (%) | 142 (52.2%) | 30 (61.2%) | 16 (55.2%) | — |
| Female (%) | 130 (47.8%) | 19 (38.8%) | 13 (44.8%) | P = 0.43 |
| Age (years) [median (M), (IQR)] | 10.45 (5.2, 15.9) | 11.7 (5.0, 14.7) | 8.7 (4.0, 12.8) | P = 0.005 |
| Neonatal screening | 177 (65.1%) | 35 (71.4%) | 16 (55.2%) | P = 0.79 |
| Pancreatic insufficiency (%) | 225 (82.7%) | 45 (91.8%) | 26 (90.0%) | P = 0.35 |
| Genetics | ||||
| dF508/dF508 (%) | 115 (47.9%) | 19 (45.2%) | 7 (26.9%) | — |
| dF508/other (%) | 104 (43.3%) | 22 (52.4%) | 16 (61.5%) | — |
| other/other (%) | 21 (8.8%) | 1 (2.4%) | 3 (11.1%) | P = 0.16 |
| Missing | 32 | 7 | 3 | |
| SEIFA score for disadvantage (Binary) | ||||
| SES 1, 2 and 3 (most disadvantaged) | 138 (50.9%) | 37 (75.5%) | 18 (67.9%) | — |
| SES 4 and 5 (least disadvantaged) | 133 (49.1%) | 12 (24.5%) | 9 (32.1%) | P = 0.003 |
| Missing SEIFA score | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| ASGC categories | ||||
| 1 (Major city) | 133 (48.9%) | 12 (24.5%) | 1 (3.4%) | — |
| 2 (Inner regional) | 111 (40.8%) | 18 (36.7%) | 23 (79.3%) | — |
| 3 (Outer regional, remote and very remote) | 28 (10.3%) | 19 (38.8%) | 5 (17.2%) | P < 0.001 |
|
Nutrition: weight (kg) [median, (IQR)]. |
27.7 (18.0, 45.6) | 35.0 (16.9, 49.1) | 27.2 (15.0, 42.7) | P = 0.68 |
| Height (cm) | 130.0 (106.0, 157.0) | 142.2 (100.5, 157.2) | 129.2 (93.0, 152.7) | P = 0.69 |
| BMI (kg m−2) | 18.1 (16.1, 20.3) | 16.8 (15.2, 18.4) | 18.1 (17.7, 19.2) | P = 0.42 |
| Weight median z‐score | −0.02 (−0.68, 0.57) | −0.01 (−0.46, 0.38) | −0.06 (−0.26, 0.38) | P = 0.20 |
| Height median z‐score | −0.16 (−0.84, 0.43) | −0.35 (−0.79, 0.22) | −0.24 (−0.87, 0.28) | P = 0.32 |
| CF‐related diabetes mellitus | 18/265 (6.8%) | 1/46 (2.2%) | 3/29 (10.3%) | P = 0.62 |
| Management: | ||||
| Continuous oral antibiotic | 112/247 (49.4%) | 14/43 (32.6%) | 5/27 (18.5%) | P = 0.002 |
| Macrolide | 62 (22.8%) | 10 (20.4%) | 1 (3.4%) | P = 0.08 |
| DNAse | 78 (28.7%) | 21 (42.9%) | 17 (58.6%) | P < 0.001 |
| Airway colonisation | ||||
| P. aeruginosa cultures | ||||
| Negative | 171 (69.5%) | 29 (65.9%) | 9 (60.0%) | — |
| Single | 26 (10.6%) | 7 (15.9%) | 1 (6.7%) | — |
| ≥ 2 positive | 49 (19.9%) | 8 (18.2%) | 5 (33.3%) | P = 0.12 |
| MRSA | 5/246 (2.0%) | 2/44 (4.6%) | 0/15 (0%) | P = 0.05 |
| Burkhodelia cepacia | 6/248 (2.4%) | 2/44 (4.6%) | 0/15 (0%) | P = 0.01 |
Medians (M) and interquartile ranges (IQR) reported in brackets, unless otherwise stated. The P‐value is for any statistically significant difference between two of the groups. dF508, delta F508; SEIFA, Socio‐economic index for areas; BMI, body mass index; P. aeruginosa, Pseudomonas aeruginosa; MRSA, methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus; SES, socio‐economic status.