Socioeconomic status is a critical risk factor for human rabies post-exposure prophylaxis

The socioeconomic status of the patients is the important factor for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). However, few investigations were designed to study the correlation between the socioeconomic status and PEP. This study set out to determine the importance of socioeconomic status for PEP. All of the 11,670 at-risk populations of rabies in the public health centre of San Sheng County in Chengdu from January 2002 to December 2009 were reviewed retrospectively. We identified 11,350 patients on vaccination and 550 patients with rabies immunoglobulin. RIG was administered to 4.85% bite victims attending the rabies prevention clinics, while 61.36% had a category III exposure. The incidence of receiving RIG in the population of the high level of income (49.38%) was much higher than the groups of the medium level (8.08%) and the low level of income (1.46%) (P < 0.05). The incidence of receiving RIG with above high school (23.08%) was much higher than the groups of the primary school (3.01%), the junior school (12.56%) and the illiteracy (2.08%) (P < 0.05). In the logistic regression analysis by stepwise approach, the socioeconomic status was the most important factor for PEP (95% Cl 1.20-2.04). Vaccination and immunoglobulin proved to be the most prominent two factors for PEP but whether receiving Vaccination and immunoglobulin treatment or not is determined by the socioeconomic status. So, the socioeconomic status was the most important factor for PEP. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.