ArticlePloS one2022
Azithromycin consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia, 2020.
Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 33 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Global trends in macrolide and lincosamide resistance in Streptococcus species: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Pooled it
- Oral antibiotics prescribing patterns and associated diarrhea risk: Public health implications.Journal of public health research · 2026Article
- Trends in Outpatient Antibiotic Prescriptions Issued in Croatian Primary Healthcare, 2015-2024.Infectious disease reports · 2026Article
- Empiric azithromycin alters the upper respiratory microbiome and resistome without anti-inflammatory benefit in COVID-19.Nature microbiology · 2026Article
- Antibiotic Prescription Patterns in Poland in the Years 2019-2024 Based on Reimbursement Data from the National Healthcare Fund.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Distribution and antibiotic resistance patterns of airborne staphylococci in urban environments of Delhi, India.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- An assessment of antimicrobial resistance national action plans and their impact on antibiotic use.BMJ global health · 2025Article
- Increased macrolide resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae in Slovakia may be linked to increased macrolide consumption.Central European journal of public health · 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
- National trends in Azithromycin consumption during 2017-2023 in Kazakhstan: impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the imperative for enhanced clinical guidelines.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Age-stratified pharmacovigilance of azithromycin: a multimethod signal detection analysis in the FAERS database.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2025Article
- The Challenges of Treating aJournal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Efficacy of Ivermectin, Chloroquine/Hydroxychloroquine, and Azithromycin in Managing COVID-19: A Systematic Review of Phase III Clinical Trials.Biomedicines · 2024Review
- Antibiotic utilization patterns in Tanzania: a retrospective longitudinal study comparing pre- and intra-COVID-19 pandemic era using Tanzania Medicines and Medical Devices Authority data.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2024Article
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- Rebound in community antibiotic consumption after the observed decrease during the COVID-19 pandemic, EU/EEA, 2022.Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2023Article
- Emerging threat of antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae: pathogenesis, treatment challenges, and potential for vaccine development.Archives of microbiology · 2023Review
- Clinical Disease Characteristics and Treatment Trajectories Associated with Mortality among COVID-19 Patients in Punjab, Pakistan.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Antimicrobial Consumption from 2017 to 2021 in East Trinidad and Tobago: A Study in the English-Speaking Caribbean.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDuring the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was great enthusiasm for the use of azithromycin with or without hydroxychloroquine.
objectivesWe analyzed azithromycin consumption in Croatia in 2020 and compared this to the period 2017-2019.
methodsAzithromycin consumption was evaluated using the IQVIA Adriatic d.o.o. database which collects data on azithromycin distribution from wholesale pharmacies to hospital and non-hospital pharmacies in Croatia. We analyzed data for the period from January 2017 to December 2020. Azithromycin distribution was measured as days of therapy (DOT) and reported as per 1000 inhabitants or per 1000 inhabitant-days.
resultsIn the period 2017-2020, total azithromycin DOT in Croatia increased in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 (1.76, 1.91, 1.91 and 2.01/1000 inhabitant-days, respectively). Non-hospital pharmacies received 2.18 times and hospital pharmacies 4.39 times more DOT units/1000 inhabitants of azithromycin in March 2020 compared to the average distribution rate in March 2017-2019. During the peak of the COVID-19 epidemic (November and December 2020) azithromycin distribution increased considerably in hospital (3.62 and 3.19 times, respectively) and non-hospital pharmacies (1.93 and 1.84 times, respectively) compared to the average consumption in the same months in 2017-2019.
conclusionsOur data showed increased azithromycin distribution in the period 2017-2020 which indicates azithromycin overuse. Preliminary information on COVID-19 treatments with a desire to offer and try what is available even in the absence of strong scientific evidence may have influenced practices of antimicrobial prescriptions.
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