Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35134183›Full record

Observational studyThe Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy2022

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on antimicrobial prescribing at a specialist paediatric hospital: an observational study.

Emma Vestesson, John Booth, James Hatcher, Orlagh McGarrity, Neil J Sebire, Adam Steventon, Carlos Suarez Alonso, Stephen Tomlin, Joseph F Standing

Open access · hybridAbstract readObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Exploring the evolution ofAntimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Emma VestessonUCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-7284-9172
John BoothGreat Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-4357-1324
James HatcherGreat Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK.
Orlagh McGarrityGreat Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK.
Neil J SebireUCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
Adam SteventonThe Health Foundation, London, UK.
Carlos Suarez AlonsoGreat Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-8337-3608
Stephen TomlinGreat Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK.
Joseph F StandingUCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-4561-7173
Great Ormond Street Hospital · GBHealth Foundation · GB

Funding

Medical Research Council MC_PC_18034Medical Research Council MR/M008665/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted healthcare delivery and there are growing concerns that the pandemic will accelerate antimicrobial resistance.

objectivesTo evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on antibiotic prescribing in a tertiary paediatric hospital in London, UK.

methodsData on patient characteristics and antimicrobial administration for inpatients treated between 29 April 2019 and Sunday 28 March 2021 were extracted from the electronic health record (EHR). Interrupted time series analysis was used to evaluate antibiotic days of therapy (DOT) and the proportion of prescribed antibiotics from the WHO 'Access' class.

resultsA total of 23 292 inpatient admissions were included. Prior to the pandemic there were an average 262 admissions per week compared with 212 during the pandemic period. Patient demographics were similar in the two periods but there was a shift in the specialities that patients had been admitted to. During the pandemic, there was a crude increase in antibiotic DOTs, from 801 weekly DOT before the pandemic to 846. The proportion of Access antibiotics decreased from 44% to 42%. However, after controlling for changes in patient characteristics, there was no evidence for the pandemic having an impact on antibiotic prescribing.

conclusionsThe patient population in a specialist children's hospital was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but after adjusting for these changes there was no evidence that antibiotic prescribing was significantly affected by the pandemic. This highlights both the value of routine, high-quality EHR data and importance of appropriate statistical methods that can adjust for underlying changes to populations when evaluating impacts of the pandemic on healthcare.

Indexed as

COVID-19 Drug TreatmentPandemicsAnti-Bacterial AgentsChildHospitals, PediatricHumansInterrupted Time Series AnalysisAnti-Bacterial Agents

Identifiers

PMID35134183
PMCPMC9383401
OpenAlexW4205843191

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.