Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37627648›Full record

ArticleAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland)2023

Antibiotics Prescriptions Pattern among Patients Visiting Primary Health Care Centers (PHCC) before and during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Population-Based Study from Qatar.

Salma Al-Nuaimi, Sara Alkuwari, Abdullah M Al-Jubouri, Salma Hegazi, Lolwa Jolo, Hafsa Khalid, Saoud Bossa, Eisa Al-Shirawi, Merin Alex, Khalid H Elawad and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 29% 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

0 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

12 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Salma Al-NuaimiDepartment of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar.ORCID 0000-0002-2158-9788
Sara AlkuwariDepartment of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar.
Abdullah M Al-JubouriDepartment of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar.ORCID 0000-0002-2909-7278
Salma HegaziDepartment of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar.ORCID 0000-0001-5049-6962
Lolwa JoloDepartment of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar.ORCID 0000-0003-0515-807X
Hafsa KhalidDepartment of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar.
Saoud BossaDepartment of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar.
Eisa Al-ShirawiDepartment of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar.
Merin AlexHealth Protection, PHCC, Doha 26555, Qatar.
Khalid H ElawadHealth Protection, PHCC, Doha 26555, Qatar.ORCID 0000-0001-5362-3373
Habib Hasan FarooquiDepartment of Population Medicine, College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar.ORCID 0000-0002-3081-2929
Susu M ZughaierDepartment of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar.ORCID 0000-0001-7487-8770
Qatar University · QA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been associated with an increased risk of secondary bacterial infections. Numerous studies have reported a surge in antibiotic usage during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the frequency and patterns of antibiotic prescriptions at Primary Health Care Centers (PHCC) in Qatar, comparing the period before and during the pandemic.

methodsThis population-based, cross-sectional study analyzed all antibiotic prescriptions issued in two-month intervals before COVID-19 (November and December 2019) and during the initial wave (June and July 2020) of COVID-19. The study included 27 PHCCs in Qatar.

resultsPrior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the PHCCs dispensed a total of 74,909 antibiotic prescriptions in November and December. During the first wave of COVID-19, the number decreased to 29,273 prescriptions in June and July 2020. Antibiotics were most commonly prescribed for adults and least commonly for the elderly, both before and during the COVID-19 period. In the pre-COVID-19 period, Betalactams and macrolides accounted for the majority (73%) of all antibiotic prescriptions across all age groups. However, during the COVID-19 period, Betalactams and other antibiotics such as Nitrofurantoin and Metronidazole (73%) were the most frequently prescribed.

conclusionThe rate of antibiotic prescriptions during the first wave of COVID-19 was lower compared to the two months preceding the pandemic at the PHCC in Qatar.

Indexed as

antibioticCOVID-19prescription patternprimary healthcareQatar

Identifiers

PMID37627648
PMCPMC10451533
OpenAlexW4385318817

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.