Antimicrobial prescribing in a secondary care setting during the COVID-19 pandemic

Michael M Tadros; Marian S Boshra; Michael Scott; Glenda Fleming; Fidelma Magee; Mohammad I Hamed; Ahmed Abuelhana; Aaron Courtenay; Heba F Salem; Kathryn Burnett

doi:10.1093/jacamr/dlad117

Antimicrobial prescribing in a secondary care setting during the COVID-19 pandemic

Michael M Tadros
, Marian S Boshra
, Michael Scott
, Glenda Fleming
, Fidelma Magee
, Mohammad I Hamed
, Ahmed Abuelhana
, Aaron Courtenay
, Heba F Salem
, Kathryn Burnett

Northern Health and Social Care Trust

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Background: Increased antimicrobial resistance patterns lead to limited options for antimicrobial agents, affecting patient health and increasing hospital costs.

Objectives: To investigate the antimicrobial prescribing patterns at two district hospitals in Northern Ireland before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A mixed prospective-retrospective study was designed to compare pre- and during pandemic antimicrobial prescribing data in both hospitals using a Global Point Prevalence Survey.

Results: Of the 591 patients surveyed in both hospitals, 43.8% were treated with 402 antimicrobials. A total of 82.8% of antimicrobial prescriptions were for empirical treatment. No significant difference existed in numbers of patients treated or antimicrobials used before and during the pandemic. There was a slight decrease of 3.3% in the compliance rate with hospital antimicrobial guidelines during the pandemic when compared with the pre-pandemic year of 2019, when it was 69.5%. Treatment based on patients’ biomarker data also slightly decreased from 83.5% pre-pandemic (2019) to 81.5% during the pandemic (2021).

Conclusions: There was no overall significant impact of the pandemic on the antimicrobial prescribing patterns in either hospital when compared with the pre-pandemic findings. The antimicrobial stewardship programmes would appear to have played an important role in controlling antimicrobial consumption during the pandemic.

Original language	English
Article number	dlad117
Pages (from-to)	1-11
Number of pages	11
Journal	JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance
Volume	5
Issue number	6
Early online date	13 Nov 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/jacamr/dlad117
Publication status	Published online - 13 Nov 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was jointly funded by both Misr University for Science and Technology (6 October City, Egypt) and Ulster University (Coleraine, UK) through a joint research programme to support one researcher from Egypt to compete a MSc (Master’s degree in Clinical Pharmacy). Article processing charges (APC) was paid by Ulster University through Jisc affliated UK intitutions Open Access Agreement. th

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

Funding

Funding Information: This research was jointly funded by both Misr University for Science and Technology (6 October City, Egypt) and Ulster University (Coleraine, UK) through a joint research programme to support one researcher from Egypt to compete a MSc (Master’s degree in Clinical Pharmacy). Article processing charges (APC) was paid by Ulster University through Jisc affliated UK intitutions Open Access Agreement. th Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Access to Document

10.1093/jacamr/dlad117

dlad117.pdfFinal published version, 323 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Antimicrobial prescribing in a secondary care setting during the COVID-19 pandemic",

abstract = "Background: Increased antimicrobial resistance patterns lead to limited options for antimicrobial agents, affecting patient health and increasing hospital costs. Objectives: To investigate the antimicrobial prescribing patterns at two district hospitals in Northern Ireland before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A mixed prospective-retrospective study was designed to compare pre- and during pandemic antimicrobial prescribing data in both hospitals using a Global Point Prevalence Survey. Results: Of the 591 patients surveyed in both hospitals, 43.8\% were treated with 402 antimicrobials. A total of 82.8\% of antimicrobial prescriptions were for empirical treatment. No significant difference existed in numbers of patients treated or antimicrobials used before and during the pandemic. There was a slight decrease of 3.3\% in the compliance rate with hospital antimicrobial guidelines during the pandemic when compared with the pre-pandemic year of 2019, when it was 69.5\%. Treatment based on patients{\textquoteright} biomarker data also slightly decreased from 83.5\% pre-pandemic (2019) to 81.5\% during the pandemic (2021). Conclusions: There was no overall significant impact of the pandemic on the antimicrobial prescribing patterns in either hospital when compared with the pre-pandemic findings. The antimicrobial stewardship programmes would appear to have played an important role in controlling antimicrobial consumption during the pandemic.",

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note = "Funding Information: This research was jointly funded by both Misr University for Science and Technology (6 October City, Egypt) and Ulster University (Coleraine, UK) through a joint research programme to support one researcher from Egypt to compete a MSc (Master{\textquoteright}s degree in Clinical Pharmacy). Article processing charges (APC) was paid by Ulster University through Jisc affliated UK intitutions Open Access Agreement. th Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.",

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AU - Boshra, Marian S

AU - Scott, Michael

AU - Fleming, Glenda

AU - Magee, Fidelma

AU - Hamed, Mohammad I

AU - Abuelhana, Ahmed

AU - Courtenay, Aaron

AU - Salem, Heba F

AU - Burnett, Kathryn

N1 - Funding Information: This research was jointly funded by both Misr University for Science and Technology (6 October City, Egypt) and Ulster University (Coleraine, UK) through a joint research programme to support one researcher from Egypt to compete a MSc (Master’s degree in Clinical Pharmacy). Article processing charges (APC) was paid by Ulster University through Jisc affliated UK intitutions Open Access Agreement. th Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

PY - 2023/11/13

Y1 - 2023/11/13

N2 - Background: Increased antimicrobial resistance patterns lead to limited options for antimicrobial agents, affecting patient health and increasing hospital costs. Objectives: To investigate the antimicrobial prescribing patterns at two district hospitals in Northern Ireland before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A mixed prospective-retrospective study was designed to compare pre- and during pandemic antimicrobial prescribing data in both hospitals using a Global Point Prevalence Survey. Results: Of the 591 patients surveyed in both hospitals, 43.8% were treated with 402 antimicrobials. A total of 82.8% of antimicrobial prescriptions were for empirical treatment. No significant difference existed in numbers of patients treated or antimicrobials used before and during the pandemic. There was a slight decrease of 3.3% in the compliance rate with hospital antimicrobial guidelines during the pandemic when compared with the pre-pandemic year of 2019, when it was 69.5%. Treatment based on patients’ biomarker data also slightly decreased from 83.5% pre-pandemic (2019) to 81.5% during the pandemic (2021). Conclusions: There was no overall significant impact of the pandemic on the antimicrobial prescribing patterns in either hospital when compared with the pre-pandemic findings. The antimicrobial stewardship programmes would appear to have played an important role in controlling antimicrobial consumption during the pandemic.

AB - Background: Increased antimicrobial resistance patterns lead to limited options for antimicrobial agents, affecting patient health and increasing hospital costs. Objectives: To investigate the antimicrobial prescribing patterns at two district hospitals in Northern Ireland before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A mixed prospective-retrospective study was designed to compare pre- and during pandemic antimicrobial prescribing data in both hospitals using a Global Point Prevalence Survey. Results: Of the 591 patients surveyed in both hospitals, 43.8% were treated with 402 antimicrobials. A total of 82.8% of antimicrobial prescriptions were for empirical treatment. No significant difference existed in numbers of patients treated or antimicrobials used before and during the pandemic. There was a slight decrease of 3.3% in the compliance rate with hospital antimicrobial guidelines during the pandemic when compared with the pre-pandemic year of 2019, when it was 69.5%. Treatment based on patients’ biomarker data also slightly decreased from 83.5% pre-pandemic (2019) to 81.5% during the pandemic (2021). Conclusions: There was no overall significant impact of the pandemic on the antimicrobial prescribing patterns in either hospital when compared with the pre-pandemic findings. The antimicrobial stewardship programmes would appear to have played an important role in controlling antimicrobial consumption during the pandemic.

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M1 - dlad117

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Antimicrobial prescribing in a secondary care setting during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

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