PMID: 11913605Mar 27, 2002Paper

Differences between Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites in use of hospital procedures for cerebrovascular disease

Ethnicity & Disease
A ElixhauserR M Andrews

Abstract

This study examined disparities in the use of in-hospital diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for Hispanics with cerebrovascular disease compared to their non-Hispanic White counterparts. This is a cross-sectional study using 1996 hospital administrative data. Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites with diagnosis codes indicating occlusion or stenosis of precerebral arteries or transient cerebral ischemia were included, with a total of 18,674 New York patients (5.1% Hispanic) and 22,624 California patients (11.1% Hispanic). Adjusted odds ratios compared Hispanics with non-Hispanic Whites for six diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for cerebrovascular disease, controlling for patient and hospital characteristics. Hispanics had higher rates of non-invasive diagnostic procedures (head CT scan, head/neck diagnostic ultrasound, echocardiogram, and head MRI). The odds of invasive diagnostic testing (cerebral arteriogram) and therapeutic procedures (carotid endarterectomy) were lower for Hispanics. Most findings remained unchanged in logistic regression models with patient and hospital characteristics. Adding a measure of the concentration of Hispanic patients by hospital eliminated or reduced observed differences between Hispanics and...Continue Reading

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