ArticleAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland)2021
Surveillance of Antibacterial Usage during the COVID-19 Pandemic in England, 2020.
Article in Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 65 citations in OpenAlex.
- The burden of Clostridioides difficile infection in COVID-19 patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Anaerobe · 2022Pooled it
- Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on antibiotic consumption: A systematic review comparing 2019 and 2020 data.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- Consumption of systemic antibiotics in a tertiary care hospital in Northern Sri Lanka: a five-year trend analysis.BMC pharmacology & toxicology · 2026Article
- Evolution of Antimicrobial Resistance inMicroorganisms · 2026Review
- Procalcitonin evaluation of antibiotic use in COVID-19 hospitalised patients: The PEACH mixed methods study.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2025Article
- Increased Antimicrobial Consumption, Isolation Rate, and Resistance Profiles of Multi-Drug ResistantAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
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- Kinetic Patterns of Antibiotic Consumption in German Acute Care Hospitals from 2017 to 2023.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Global prevalence of human intestinal carriage of ESBL-producingJAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2025Review
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the consumption of antibiotics and the emergence of AMR: case study in a general hospital.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Determining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the consumption of antibiotics in Shaanxi province, China: an interrupted time-series analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- From Routine to Crisis: The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Antibiotic Consumption in Iran.Health science reports · 2024Article
- How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect antibiotic consumption within humanitarian emergencies? Results from five humanitarian contexts.Infection prevention in practice · 2024Article
- Hospital Antibiotic Consumption before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Hungary.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Antimicrobial prescribing in a secondary care setting during the COVID-19 pandemic.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2023Article
- The Outcome of Antibiotic Overuse before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Oman.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Pharmacoepidemiological Analysis of Antibacterial Agents Used in a Provisional Hospital in Aktobe, Kazakhstan, in the Context of COVID-19: A Comparison with the Pre-Pandemic Period.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on community antibiotic consumption in the EU/European Economic Area: a changepoint analysis.The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy · 2023Article
- The impact of COVID-19 national restrictions on dental antibiotic dispensing trends and treatment activity in England: January 2016 to July 2021.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Changes in antibacterial prescribing during the COVID-19 pandemic were anticipated given that the clinical features of severe respiratory infection syndrome caused by SARS-CoV-2 mirror bacterial respiratory tract infections. Antibacterial consumption was measured in items/1000 population for primary care and in Defined Daily Doses (DDDs)/1000 admissions for secondary care in England from 2015 to October 2020. Interrupted time-series analyses were conducted to evaluate the effects of the pandemic on antibacterial consumption. In the community, the rate of antibacterial items prescribed decreased further in 2020 (by an extra 1.4% per month, 95% CI: -2.3 to -0.5) compared to before COVID-19. In hospitals, the volume of antibacterial use decreased during COVID-19 overall (-12.1% compared to pre-COVID, 95% CI: -19.1 to -4.4), although the rate of usage in hospitals increased steeply in April 2020. Use of antibacterials prescribed for respiratory infections and broad-spectrum antibacterials (predominately 'Watch' antibacterials in hospitals) increased in both settings. Overall volumes of antibacterial use at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic decreased in both primary and secondary settings, although there were increases in the rate of usage in hospitals in April 2020 and in specific antibacterials. This highlights the importance of antimicrobial stewardship during pandemics to ensure appropriate prescribing and avoid negative consequences on patient outcomes and antimicrobial resistance.
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