ArticleOpen forum infectious diseases2021
The Impact of COVID-19 on Outpatient Antibiotic Prescriptions in Ontario, Canada; An Interrupted Time Series Analysis.
Article in Open forum infectious diseases, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 55 citations in OpenAlex.
- Antibiotic resistance associated with the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases · 2023Pooled it
- Mailed feedback to primary care physicians on antibiotic prescribing for patients aged 65 years and older: pragmatic, factorial randomised controlled trial.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2024Trial
- National retrospective study of regional prescriber-specific variation in community antibiotic prescribing Canada, 2019-2023.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Impact of community pharmacist antibiotic prescribing for minor ailments: an interrupted time series analysis.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Article
- Trends in antibiotic dispensing for children in Belgian ambulatory care: time series analysis before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2025Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Antibiotic Prescriptions at the University Clinical Dentistry Center of Kosovo.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Changes in the Ambulatory Use of Antibiotics in France Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020-2022: A Nationwide Time-Series Analysis.Annals of family medicine · 2025Article
- Community antibiotic consumption in the European Union/European economic area: late-pandemic rebound and seasonality analysis.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2024Article
- Article
- Returned Rate and Changed Patterns of Systemic Antibiotic Use in Ambulatory Care in Hungary after the Pandemic-A Longitudinal Ecological Study.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Changes in the Appropriateness of US Outpatient Antibiotic Prescribing After the COVID-19 Outbreak: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis of 2016-2021 Data.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2024Article
- Prescribing Antibiotics for Children with Acute Conditions in Public Primary Care Clinics in Singapore: A Retrospective Cohort Database Study.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on antibiotic use in Canadian primary care: a matched-cohort study using EMR data.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2024Article
- Community antibiotic prescribing in patients with COVID-19 across three pandemic waves: a population-based study in Scotland, UK.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on prescription drug use and costs in British Columbia: a retrospective interrupted time series study.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Prescribing Trends for Oral Vancomycin and Fidaxomicin after Guideline and Formulary Changes in Ontario, Canada: An Interrupted Time-Series Analysis.The Canadian journal of hospital pharmacy · 2024Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Ambulatory Care Antibiotic Use in Hungary: A Population-Based Observational Study.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Community Consumption of Antibiotics for Systemic Use and Resistance of InvasiveAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Prescribing Antibiotics in Public Primary Care Clinics in Singapore: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
15 authors at 9 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has potentially impacted outpatient antibiotic prescribing. Investigating this impact may identify stewardship opportunities in the ongoing COVID-19 period and beyond.
methodsWe conducted an interrupted time series analysis on outpatient antibiotic prescriptions and antibiotic prescriptions/patient visits in Ontario, Canada, between January 2017 and December 2020 to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on population-level antibiotic prescribing by prescriber specialty, patient demographics, and conditions.
resultsIn the evaluated COVID-19 period (March-December 2020), there was a 31.2% (95% CI, 27.0% to 35.1%) relative reduction in total antibiotic prescriptions. Total outpatient antibiotic prescriptions decreased during the COVID-19 period by 37.1% (95% CI, 32.5% to 41.3%) among family physicians, 30.7% (95% CI, 25.8% to 35.2%) among subspecialist physicians, 12.1% (95% CI, 4.4% to 19.2%) among dentists, and 25.7% (95% CI, 21.4% to 29.8%) among other prescribers. Antibiotics indicated for respiratory infections decreased by 43.7% (95% CI, 38.4% to 48.6%). Total patient visits and visits for respiratory infections decreased by 10.7% (95% CI, 5.4% to 15.6%) and 49.9% (95% CI, 43.1% to 55.9%). Total antibiotic prescriptions/1000 visits decreased by 27.5% (95% CI, 21.5% to 33.0%), while antibiotics indicated for respiratory infections/1000 visits with respiratory infections only decreased by 6.8% (95% CI, 2.7% to 10.8%).
conclusionsThe reduction in outpatient antibiotic prescribing during the COVID-19 pandemic was driven by less antibiotic prescribing for respiratory indications and largely explained by decreased visits for respiratory infections.
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