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The impact of COVID-19 on community antibiotic use in Canada: an ecological study.
Knight, Braden D; Shurgold, Jayson; Smith, Glenys; MacFadden, Derek R; Schwartz, Kevin L; Daneman, Nick; Gravel Tropper, Denise; Brooks, James.
  • Knight BD; Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Canada. Electronic address: braden.knight@canada.ca.
  • Shurgold J; Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Canada.
  • Smith G; Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Canada.
  • MacFadden DR; The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada.
  • Schwartz KL; Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
  • Daneman N; Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Canada; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
  • Gravel Tropper D; Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Canada.
  • Brooks J; Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Canada.
Clin Microbiol Infect ; 28(3): 426-432, 2022 Mar.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1487661
ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES:

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an effect on the incidence of infectious diseases and medical care. This study aimed to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on community-level antibiotic use.

METHODS:

Using national antibiotic dispensing data from IQVIA's CompuScript database, this ecological study investigated antibiotic dispensing through community retail pharmacies in Canada from November 2014 to October 2020. Analyses were stratified by age, sex, prescription origin and approximate indication.

RESULTS:

Adjusting for seasonality, the national rate of antibiotic dispensing in Canada decreased by 26.5% (50.4 to 37.0 average prescriptions per 1000 inhabitants) during the first 8 months of the Canadian COVID-19 period (March to October 2020), compared with the pre-COVID-19 period. Prescribing rates in children ≤18 years decreased from 43.7 to 12.2 prescriptions per 1000 inhabitants in males (-72%) and from 46.8 to 14.9 prescriptions per 1000 inhabitants in females (-68%) in April 2020. Rates in adults ≥65 decreased from 74.9 to 48.8 prescriptions per 1000 inhabitants in males (-35%) and from 91.7 to 61.3 prescriptions per 1000 inhabitants in females (-33%) in May 2020. Antibiotic prescriptions from family physicians experienced a greater decrease than from surgeons and infectious disease physicians. Prescribing rates for antibiotics for respiratory indications decreased by 56% in May 2020 (29.2 to 12.8 prescriptions per 1000 inhabitants), compared with prescribing rates for urinary tract infections (9.4 to 7.8 prescriptions per 1000 inhabitants; -17%) and skin and soft tissue infections (6.4 to 5.2 prescriptions per 1000 inhabitants; -19%).

DISCUSSION:

The first 8 months of the COVID-19 pandemic reduced community antibiotic dispensing by 26.5% in Canada, compared with the marginal decrease of 3% in antibiotic consumption between 2015 and 2019. Further research is needed to understand the implications and long-term effects of the observed reductions on antibiotic use on antibiotic resistance in Canada.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: COVID-19 / COVID-19 Drug Treatment Type of study: Experimental Studies / Observational study / Prognostic study Limits: Adult / Child / Female / Humans / Male Country/Region as subject: North America Language: English Journal: Clin Microbiol Infect Journal subject: Communicable Diseases / Microbiology Year: 2022 Document Type: Article

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: COVID-19 / COVID-19 Drug Treatment Type of study: Experimental Studies / Observational study / Prognostic study Limits: Adult / Child / Female / Humans / Male Country/Region as subject: North America Language: English Journal: Clin Microbiol Infect Journal subject: Communicable Diseases / Microbiology Year: 2022 Document Type: Article