Comparison of Health Care Use in the 2 Weeks Before Emergency Admission for UTI and for LRTI or Pneumonia, Between Adults With and Without ID
| Characteristic | UTI | LRTI or Pneumonia | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults With ID, No. (%) (n=276) | Adults Without ID, No. (%) (n=451) | Adults With ID, No. (%) (n=457) | Adults Without ID, No. (%) (n=671) | |
| Age-group, ya | ||||
| 18–34 | 43 (16) | 123 (27) | 84 (18) | 81 (12) |
| 35–54 | 77 (28) | 115 (26) | 145 (32) | 194 (29) |
| 55–84 | 156 (57) | 213 (47) | 228 (50) | 396 (59) |
| Sex, male | 134 (49) | 150 (33) | 260 (57) | 384 (57) |
| At high risk for infectionb | 139 (50) | 117 (26) | 108 (24) | 23 (3) |
| Health care use | ||||
| Consulted primary care practice | 156 (56) | 251 (56) | 277 (61) | 368 (55) |
| Did not consult but had emergency encounterc | 19 (7) | 32 (7) | 27 (6) | 39 (6) |
| Had other record of encounter onlyd | 70 (25) | 85 (19) | 97 (21) | 131 (20) |
| Did not have any record of use | 31 (11) | 83 (18) | 56 (12) | 133 (20) |
| Among those who consulted the practice only | ||||
| Diagnosis recorded | 22 (14) | 45 (18) | 60 (22) | 80 (22) |
| Urine test performede | 44 (28) | 75 (30) | NA | NA |
| Antibiotics prescribed | 62 (40) | 115 (46) | 111 (40) | 163 (44) |
| None of the above | 76 (49) | 118 (47) | 151 (55) | 187 (51) |
| Among those prescribed antibiotics only | ||||
| Frontline antibioticf only | 29 (47) | 57 (50) | 65 (59) | 113 (69) |
| Other antibiotic only | 28 (45) | 52 (45) | 32 (29) | 34 (21) |
| Both frontlinef and other antibiotic | 5 (8) | 6 (5) | 14 (13) | 16 (10) |
| Antibiotics prescribed, No. | ||||
| 1 | 55 (89) | 94 (82) | 88 (79) | 130 (80) |
| ≥2 | 7 (11) | 21 (18) | 23 (21) | 33 (20) |
ID = intellectual disability; LRTI = lower respiratory tract infection; NA = not applicable for LRTI or pneumonia; UTI = urinary tract infection.
↵a Mean age was 54.8, 51.6, 52.2, and 56.5 years across the row, respectively.
↵b High risk for UTI: history of specific kidney operation, UTI, catheter, or incontinence; high risk for LRTI or pneumonia: history of recurrent chest infections, pneumonitis, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy feeding, prescriptions for food thickeners, or ≥2 chest infections in past year.
↵c Included emergency department and other out-of-hours services.
↵d Other records were repeat prescriptions, administrative entries, or routine specialist appointments.
↵e Urine tests included both immediate dipstick and nonimmediate urine microscopy; of those with a test recorded, 37 (84%) of adults with ID and 62 (83%) of adults without ID had urine microscopy.
↵f Frontline antibiotics were nitrofurantoin and trimethoprim for UTI, and amoxicillin, clarithromycin, doxycycline, and erythromycin for pneumonia or LRTI.