Table 4 Asthma-related drugs and examinations usage of children in different age groups, regions and city grades (N, %)
From: The economic burden of medical treatment of children with asthma in China
|  | Total | Children younger than 3 years old | Preschool children | School-age children | P | East China | Central China | West China | P | 1st tier city | 2nd tier city | 3rd tier city | 4th and 5th Tier city | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Number | 378 (100%) | 66 (17.46%) | 129 (34.13%) | 183 (48.41%) | Â | 320 (84.66%) | 14 (3.70%) | 44 (11.64%) | Â | 89 (23.54%) | 232 (61.83%) | 22 (5.82%) | 35 (9.26%) | Â |
Medication | ||||||||||||||
 Asthma medications | 240 (63.49%) | 60 (90.91%) | 83 (64.34%) | 97 (53.01%) | < 0.01 | 218 (68.13%) | 14 (100%) | 8 (18.18%) | < 0.01 | 59 (66.29%) | 143 (61.64%) | 18 (81.82%) | 20 (57.14%) | < 0.01 |
 Antibiotics | 190 (50.26%) | 42 (63.64%) | 61 (47.29%) | 87 (47.54%) | 0.06 | 154 (48.13%) | 14 (100%) | 22 (50%) | < 0.01 | 23 (25.84%) | 128 (55.17%) | 12 (54.55%) | 27 (77.14%) | < 0.01 |
 Antiallergics | 84 (22.22%) | 8 (12.12%) | 33 (25.58%) | 43 (23.50%) | 0.09 | 74 (23.13%) | 4 (28.57%) | 6 (13.64%) | 0.31 | 32 (35.96%) | 35 (15.09%) | 10 (45.45%) | 7 (20.00%) | < 0.01 |
Examination | ||||||||||||||
 Blood test | 115 (30.42%) | 28 (42.42%) | 41 (31.78%) | 46 (25.14%) | 0.03 | 90 (28.13%) | 9 (64.29%) | 16 (36.36%) | 0.01 | 18 (20.22%) | 74 (31.90%) | 6 (27.27%) | 17 (48.57%) | 0.02 |
 Pulmonary function test | 46 (12.17%) | 1 (1.52%) | 10 (7.75%) | 35 (19.13%) | < 0.01 | 42 (13.13%) | 1 (7.14%) | 3 (6.82%) | 0.41 | 18 (20.22%) | 24 (10.34%) | 1 (4.55%) | 3 (8.57%) | 0.08 |
 Allergen test | 22 (5.82%) | 2 (3.03%) | 13 (10.08%) | 7 (3.83%) | 0.03 | 19 (5.94%) | 3 (21.43%) | – | 0.10 | 7 (7.87%) | 13 (5.60%) | – | 2 (5.71%) | 0.73 |
 Radiology | 31 (8.20%) | 13 (19.70%) | 10 (7.75%) | 8 (4.37%) | < 0.01 | 17 (5.31%) | 6 (42.86%) | 8 (18.18%) | < 0.01 | 1 (1.12%) | 19 (8.19%) | 3 (13.64%) | 8 (22.86%) | < 0.01 |