Skip to main content

Following Drop After COVID-19 Onset, Inappropriate Antibiotic Prescribing Is Up

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on May 1, 2024.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, May 1, 2024 -- There was an initial decrease in inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions following onset of COVID-19, followed by an increase, according to a study published online April 22 in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Kao-Ping Chua, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, and colleagues conducted an interrupted time series analysis to examine changes in the appropriateness of U.S. outpatient antibiotic prescribing across all conditions and age groups after the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020. The analyses included 37,566,581 enrollees (51 percent female).

The researchers found that in March 2020, there was a decrease in the proportion of enrollees with one or more inappropriate prescriptions (level decrease, −0.80 percentage points), followed by a subsequent increase (slope increase, 0.02 percentage points per month). The increase was partially due to a rebound in overall antibiotic dispensing and partially due to an increase in the proportion of antibiotics that were inappropriate (slope increase, 0.11 percentage points per month). The proportion of enrollees with one or more inappropriate prescriptions was equal in December 2021 and December 2019.

"Antibiotic stewardship initiatives are needed to reverse this rise, thus preventing unnecessary morbidity and morbidity associated with antibiotic-related adverse events and antimicrobial resistance," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted May 2024

Further Support and Information on COVID-19

Read this next

Disparities Seen in Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales Bloodstream Infection Outcomes

TUESDAY, May 14, 2024 -- Black female patients hospitalized for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) bloodstream infections (BSI) face increased 30-day mortality, according...

Some Children Prescribed Nonrecommended Meds for COVID-19

MONDAY, May 13, 2024 -- Despite national guidelines, a small proportion of children were prescribed ineffective and potentially harmful medications for acute COVID-19, according...

Long-Term Smell, but Not Taste, Deficits Seen After COVID-19

WEDNESDAY, May 1, 2024 -- Olfactory dysfunction, especially for smell, is more common in individuals with prior COVID-19 versus individuals with no history of infection, with...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.