ArticleInternational journal of antimicrobial agents2022
Evaluation of early antibiotic use in patients with non-severe COVID-19 without bacterial infection.
Article in International journal of antimicrobial agents, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Does Empirical Antibiotic Use Improve Outcomes in Ventilated Patients with Pandemic Viral Infection? A Multicentre Retrospective Study.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Antibiotic Treatment in Patients Hospitalized for Nonsevere COVID-19.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- 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
- The Evolving Challenge of Appropriate Antibiotics Use in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Literature Review.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Prevalence, under-reporting, and epidemiological surveillance of COVID-19 in the Araguaína City of Brazil.PloS one · 2024Article
- Is there a correlation between antibiotic use and the severity or post-infection conditions of COVID-19 and other viral infections?Clinical and experimental medicine · 2023Review
- Characterization of respiratory bacterial co-infection and assessment of empirical antibiotic treatment in patients with COVID-19 at hospital admission.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- The Dark Side of Nosocomial Infections in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Review
- Article
- Comparison of Azvudine and Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir and Combined Use in Patients with COVID-19.Infection and drug resistance · 2023Article
- Article
- Azithromycin use and outcomes in patients with COVID-19: an observational real-world study.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2022Observational
- Antibiotic (Mis)Use in COVID-19 Patients before and after Admission to a Tertiary Hospital in Serbia.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe use of antibiotics was common in some countries during the early phase of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but adequate evaluation remains lacking. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of early antibiotic use in patients with non-severe COVID-19 admitted without bacterial infection.
methodsThis multi-centre retrospective cohort study included 1,373 inpatients with non-severe COVID-19 admitted without bacterial infection. Patients were divided into two groups according to their exposure to antibiotics within 48 h of admission. The outcomes were progression to severe COVID-19, length of stay >15 days and mortality rate. A mixed-effect Cox model and random effect logistic regression were used to explore the association between early antibiotic use and outcomes.
resultsDuring the 30-day follow-up period, the proportion of patients who progressed to severe COVID-19 in the early antibiotic use group was almost 1.4 times that of the comparison group. In the mixed-effect model, the early use of antibiotics was associated with higher probability of developing severe COVID-19 and staying in hospital for >15 days. However, there was no significant association between early use of antibiotics and mortality. Analysis with propensity-score-matched cohorts displayed similar results. In subgroup analysis, patients receiving any class of antibiotic were at increased risk of adverse health outcomes. Azithromycin did not improve disease progression and length of stay in patients with COVID-19.
conclusionsIt is suggested that antibiotic use should be avoided unless absolutely necessary in patients with non-severe COVID-19, particularly in the early stages.
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