Evaluating Adult Cystic Fibrosis Care in BC: Disparities in Access to a Multidisciplinary Treatment Centre

Table 2

Access to clinic, surveillance and screening tests, and guideline-recommended treatments by travel time.

	One-way travel time by automobile to SPH, min				value
	<45 ()	45–150 ()	150–360 ()	>360 ()
Routine clinic visits
Routine clinic visits, mean (SD)	3.8 (2.1)	3.6 (1.9)	2.2 (1.5)	2 (1.5)	<0.001
4 routine clinic visits, (%)	45 (53%)	15 (54%)	10 (24%)	2 (15%)	0.002
Routine surveillance and screening tests
Routine sputum cultures, mean (SD)	3.6 (1.9)	3.4 (1.7)	2.4 (1.8)	2.5 (1.9)	0.004
4 routine sputum cultures, (%)	47 (55%)	14 (50%)	12 (29%)	4 (31%)	0.023
Bone density measurement, (%)	19 (22%)	11 (39%)	7 (17%)	2 (15%)	0.2
Annual CF bloodwork, (%)	49 (58%)	17 (61%)	25 (60%)	7 (54%)	1.0
1 NTM culture, (%)	71 (84%)	24 (86%)	29 (69%)	10 (77%)	0.2
Access to guideline-recommended pulmonary therapies
Grade A: inhaled antibiotics, PsA+ and severe or moderate lung disease, (%)	17 (89%)	11 (92%)	8 (80%)	2 (100%)	0.8
Grade A: dornase alfa, severe or moderate lung disease, (%)	19 (59%)	12 (80%)	15 (88%)	3 (60%)	0.1
Grade B: inhaled antibiotics, PsA+ and mild lung disease, (%)	5 (42%)	1 (50%)	3 (50%)	1 (100%)	0.9
Grade B: dornase alfa, mild lung disease or normal lung function, (%)	18 (38%)	2 (18%)	6 (32%)	2 (67%)	0.7
Grade B: azithromycin, PsA+ and negative NTM culture, (%)	22 (73%)	11 (85%)	13 (81%)	2 (100%)	0.5
Grade B: hypertonic saline, any disease, (%)	35 (41%)	8 (29%)	11 (26%)	3 (23%)	0.3

Mean (standard deviation), or (%).
NTM: nontuberculous mycobacteria; PsA+: P. aeruginosa isolates in 50% of annual sputum cultures.
Inhaled antibiotics included tobramycin (powdered or nebulized) and aztreonam.
Severe lung disease: FEV1% predicted < 40%.
Moderate lung disease: FEV1% predicted 40–69%.
Mild lung disease: FEV1% predicted 70–90%.
= Statistically significant difference compared to reference group (one-way driving travel time < 45 minutes).