Use of last-resort antibiotics increased during COVID-19 pandemic

A brand new examine by researchers from Metropolis St George’s, College of London and the Ineos Oxford Institute for antimicrobial analysis, has discovered that prescriptions of last-resort antibiotics elevated throughout a number of international locations in the course of the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Researchers analyzed affected person information from 17 hospitals in 9 international locations (Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Italy, Malawi, Nigeria, South Korea, Switzerland, and Turkey) to match the usage of antimicrobials earlier than and in the course of the pandemic.

They extracted details about antibiotics prescribed to over 14,000 sufferers admitted to vital care wards with life-threatening infections comparable to pneumonia, acute respiratory misery syndrome or sepsis. The analysis is printed in JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance.

In Bangladesh, Brazil, Italy and Turkey, there have been important will increase within the prescription of antibiotics categorised by the World Well being Group (WHO) as Watch group broad-spectrum antimicrobials, which have excessive potential to advertise antimicrobial resistance.

In Bangladesh, there was a major enhance in prescriptions for meropenem and moxifloxacin in the course of the pandemic in comparison with the pre-pandemic interval, whereas elevated prescriptions of the mixed antibiotic remedy of piperacillin and tazobactam was noticed in Italy. Brazil reported a major 43.8% enhance in instances the place three or extra antimicrobials had been used.

Statistical evaluation additionally confirmed modifications in prescribing patterns over the course of the pandemic. For instance, the utilization of azithromycin gained substantial traction throughout all examine websites in the course of the pandemic, with noteworthy prescription spikes recognized in Bangladesh, Brazil, and South Korea.

Utilization then declined following introduction of WHO pointers for COVID-19 administration, which discouraged antibiotic use for the remedy of COVID-19 infections. In Turkey, a major enhance in meropenem and amikacin use in November-December 2020 coincided with the height of COVID-19 deaths in the course of the second wave of the pandemic.

Talking concerning the examine, Dr. Catrin Moore from Metropolis St George’s Institute for An infection and Immunity mentioned, “It is attention-grabbing to see fluctuations in prescriptions in response to the modifications in remedy steerage, as this exhibits the influence that public well being coverage has on affected person care.

“Importantly, there was an absence of standardized prescribing pointers in low- and lower-middle-income settings. This highlights an pressing want—to determine higher native and international antimicrobial stewardship applications that are important for efficient restoration post-pandemic.”