Abstract
Background
Approximately 300,000 cases of Lyme disease occur annually in the UNITED STATES, with children aged 5–9 years disproportionately affected. A single dose of doxycycline administered within 72 hours of a high-risk tick bite is recommended for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to prevent Lyme disease in areas of high incidence. However, it is not known how often or for which patients PEP is used. We aimed to describe recent patterns of single-dose doxycycline medication claims in states with high and low Lyme disease incidence, and the associated patient and prescription characteristics in a large national commercial insurance claims database.
Methods
Outpatient medication claims in the IBM Watson Health MarketScan Database®, a large nation-wide database of de-identified insurance claims filed between January 1, 2014–December 31, 2017 were reviewed. Claims of single-dose doxycycline were identified and associated patient demographics and medication characteristics were analyzed.
Results
During 2014–2017, 66,210 medication claims for single-dose doxycycline were filed by 63,112 enrollees; mean annual incidence of receiving at least one single-dose doxycycline prescription was 56 per 100,000 enrollees. Mean patient age was 43 years (IQR 33–56 years); only 8% were for children aged <18 years. About half (46%) were male patients. Most claims (71%) were made by patients residing in the 14 states with high Lyme disease incidence, defined as an average annual incidence of ≥ 10 confirmed Lyme disease cases per 100,000 population. The majority (80%) of medication claims were during the 6 months of peak tick activity (April–July for nymphal ticks and October–November for adult ticks).
Conclusion
Single-dose doxycycline medication claims are common in states with high Lyme disease incidence and are highest during months of peak tick activity, consistent with the assumption that most single-dose doxycycline is used for Lyme disease PEP. Use of single-dose doxycycline to prevent Lyme disease is infrequent in children, despite being a group at high risk for Lyme disease. Efforts to educate pediatric healthcare providers and parents should be made to increase Lyme disease PEP access for children.
Disclosures
All authors: No reported disclosures.
Session: 163. Public Health
Friday, October 4, 2019: 12:15 PM