Disparities in the Use of Seizure Medications After Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

We investigated potential disparities in the use of prophylactic seizure medications in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage.

Review of multicenter electronic health record (EHR) data with simultaneous prospective data recording. EHR data were retrieved from HealthLNK, a multicenter EHR repository in Chicago, Illinois, from 2006 to 2012 (multicenter cohort). Additional data were prospectively coded (single-center cohort) from 2007 through 2015.

The multicenter cohort comprised 3422 patients from 4 HealthLNK centers. Use of levetiracetam varied by race/ethnicity (P=0.0000008), with whites nearly twice as likely as blacks to be administered levetiracetam (odds ratio: 1.71; 95% confidence interval, 1.43-2.05; P<0.0001). In the single-center cohort (n=450), hematoma location, older age, depressed consciousness, larger hematoma volume, no alcohol abuse, and race/ethnicity were associated with levetiracetam administration (P≤0.04). Whites were nearly twice as likely as blacks to receive levetiracetam (odds ratio: 1.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.25-2.89; P=0.002); however, the association was confounded by history of hypertension, higher blood pressure on admission, and deep hematoma location. Only hematoma location was independently associated with levetiracetam administration (P<0.00001), rendering other variables, including race/ethnicity, nonsignificant.

Although multicenter EHR data showed apparent racial/ethnic disparities in the use of prophylactic seizure medications, a more complete single-center cohort found the apparent disparity to be confounded by the clinical factors of hypertension and hematoma location. Disparities in care after intracerebral hemorrhage are common; however, administrative data may lead to the discovery of disparities that are confounded by detailed clinical data not readily available in EHRs.