Antibiotic Stewardship Strategies to Limit Inappropriate Antibiotic Use and Reduce Multi-Drug Resistant Pathogens during Covid-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

Antibiotics have been extensively used in COVID-19 patients without a clear indication. COVID-19 pneumonia is associated with a mortality up to 20% varying by country with the number of global deaths over 5 million. Antibiotics have been extensively used in COVID-19 patients in intensive care units (ICUs) without a clear indication. According to a previous study, the frequency of bacterial pneumonia in COVID-19 patients was 6.9%, while >70% of patients received antibiotics. This is likely due to the clinical findings of COVID-19 pneumonia overlapping with those of bacterial pneumonia and the lack of reliable indicators of bacterial infection. Strategies that distinguish bacterial from viral pneumonia are desirable. In this session, I will discuss the impact of inappropriate antibiotic use during pandemic as well as the strategy to limit inappropriate antibiotic use as well as multi-drug resistant pathogen during COVID-19 pandemic among COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 populations.Copyright © 2023