Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2023 Oct 25:1-8. doi: 10.1017/ice.2023.180. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine whether increased antimicrobial use (AU) at the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was driven by greater AU in COVID-19 patients only, or whether AU also increased in non-COVID-19 patients.
DESIGN: In this retrospective observational ecological study from 2019 to 2020, we stratified inpatients by COVID-19 status and determined relative percentage differences in median monthly AU in COVID-19 patients versus non-COVID-19 patients during the COVID-19 period (March-December 2020) and the pre-COVID-19 period (March-December 2019). We also determined relative percentage differences in median monthly AU in non-COVID-19 patients during the COVID-19 period versus the pre-COVID-19 period. Statistical significance was assessed using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests.
SETTING: The study was conducted in 3 acute-care hospitals in Chicago, Illinois.
PATIENTS: Hospitalized patients.
RESULTS: Facility-wide AU for broad-spectrum antibacterial agents predominantly used for hospital-onset infections was significantly greater in COVID-19 patients versus non-COVID-19 patients during the COVID-19 period (with relative increases of 73%, 66%, and 91% for hospitals A, B, and C, respectively), and during the pre-COVID-19 period (with relative increases of 52%, 64%, and 66% for hospitals A, B, and C, respectively). In contrast, facility-wide AU for all antibacterial agents was significantly lower in non-COVID-19 patients during the COVID-19 period versus the pre-COVID-19 period (with relative decreases of 8%, 7%, and 8% in hospitals A, B, and C, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS: AU for broad-spectrum antimicrobials was greater in COVID-19 patients compared to non-COVID-19 patients at the onset of the pandemic. AU for all antibacterial agents in non-COVID-19 patients decreased in the COVID-19 period compared to the pre-COVID-19 period.
PMID:37877166 | DOI:10.1017/ice.2023.180
