ArticleJAC-antimicrobial resistance2021
Antibiotic prescribing patterns in patients hospitalized with COVID-19: lessons from the first wave.
Article in JAC-antimicrobial resistance, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Antimicrobial resistance in patients with COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The Lancet. Microbe · 2023Pooled it
- Antibiotic Use, Bacterial Co-Infection, and Antimicrobial Resistance in Adults Hospitalized with COVID-19, Influenza, or RSV: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Antibiotic Use Among Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19 Infection (SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant) in Oman: A Single-center Retrospective Study.Oman medical journal · 2025Article
- A multicenter evaluation of antibacterial use in hospitalized patients through the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic waves.BMC infectious diseases · 2023Article
- SHEA statement on antibiotic stewardship in hospitals during public health emergencies.Infection control and hospital epidemiology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundA high proportion of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 receive antibiotics despite evidence to show low levels of true bacterial coinfection.
methodsA retrospective cohort study examining antibiotic prescribing patterns of 300 patients sequentially diagnosed with COVID-19. Patients were grouped into 3 sub-cohorts: Group 1 received no antibiotics, Group 2 received antibiotics for microbiologically confirmed infections and Group 3 was empirically treated with antibiotics for pneumonia. The primary aim was to identify factors that influenced prescription and continuation of antibiotics in Group 3. Secondary aims were to examine differences in outcomes between groups.
resultsIn total, 292 patients were included (63 Group 1, 35 Group 2, 194 Group 3), median age was 60 years (IQR 44-76) and the majority were ethnically Irish (62%). The median duration of antibiotics was 7 days (IQR 5-10). In Group 3, factors associated with prescription IV antibiotics on admission were raised C-reactive protein (CRP) (
conclusionsDuration of hypoxia and need for respiratory support may have acted as surrogate measures of improvement where usual response measures (CRP, neutrophilia, culture clearance) were absent. Continuous review of antibiotic prescriptions should be at the forefront of clinical management of hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.