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Volume 14, Number 8—August 2008
Dispatch

Oseltamivir Prescribing in Pharmacy-Benefits Database, United States, 2004–20051

Justin R. Ortiz*2Comments to Author , Laurie Kamimoto*, Ronald E. Aubert†, Jianying Yao†, David K. Shay*, Joseph S. Bresee*, and Robert S. Epstein†
Author affiliations: *Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA; †Medco Health Solutions, Inc., Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, USA;

Main Article

Table 2

Oseltamivir prescription rates/100,000 enrollees by age and chronic disease classification, United States, weeks 36–44, 2004 and 2005

Characteristic 2004 2005 Rate ratio (2005/2004) 95% Confidence interval
Age group, y
<1 0.26 10.65 40.7 (5.6–294)
1–4 8.95 65.95 7.4 (6.3–8.6)
5–17 11.12 81.28 7.3 (6.8–7.9)
18–24 19.55 81.42 4.2 (3.8–4.5)
25–49 33.08 120.97 3.7 (3.5–3.8)
50–64 63.33 211.26 3.3 (3.2–3.4)
>65
 69.04
 168.20
 2.4
 (2.4–2.5)
Chronic disease classification*
Pulmonary 77.66 268.50 3.46 (3.33–3.60)
Immune deficient 67.75 240.16 3.54 (3.21–3.91)
Neurologic 54.57 207.43 3.80 (3.47–4.15)
Cardiac 54.11 196.92 3.64 (3.54–3.74)
Diabetes 50.85 143.85 2.83 (2.64–3.02)
Chronic disease absent
 14.07
 89.50
 6.36
 (6.10–6.62)
*Rates from chronic disease classification include only enrollees >18 y of age. Except for the chronic disease absent category, all chronic disease classifications were not mutually exclusive. Chronic disease classification is derived from the chronic disease index, which has been validated (10).

Main Article

References
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Main Article

1This study was presented, in part, at the Infectious Diseases Society of America annual meeting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, October 14, 2006, and in poster form at the Options for the Control of Influenza Conference, Toronto, June 17, 2007.

2Current affiliation: University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

Page created: July 12, 2010
Page updated: July 12, 2010
Page reviewed: July 12, 2010
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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