New data from the WHO shows overuse of antibiotics during the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide – which may have exacerbated the “silent” spread of antimicrobial resistance.
While only 8% of those hospitalized with COVID-19 had bacterial comorbidities that required antibiotics, 3 out of 4 or 75% of patients were treated with antibiotics “just in case.”
Use ranged from 33% in patients in the Western Pacific Region to 83% in the Eastern Mediterranean and African Region. Between 2020 and 2022, prescriptions decreased over time in Europe and the Americas while increasing in Africa.
The highest use of antibiotics was seen in patients with severe COVID-19, averaging 81%. In mild or moderate cases there was considerable variation between regions, with the highest use occurring in the African Region (79%).
WHO categorizes antibiotics as Access, Watch, Reserve, according to the risk of antimicrobial resistance.
Worryingly, the research showed that ‘Watch’ antibiotics with the highest potential for resistance were the most frequently prescribed globally.
The evidence calls for improvements in the judicious use of antibiotics to minimize negative consequences for patients and populations.
In general, the use of antibiotics did not improve the picture in patients with COVID-19 but could harm people without a bacterial infection compared to those who did not receive antibiotics.
Data were collected on 450,000 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in 65 countries over 3 years (2020-23).
Tags: Misuse antibiotics occurred COVID19 pandemic
