Antibiotic Consumption in a Cohort of Hospitalized Adults with Viral Respiratory Tract Infection
Development of antibiotic resistance, a threat to global health, is driven by inappropriate antibiotic usage. Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are frequently treated empirically with antibiotics, despite the fact that a majority of the infections are caused by viruses. The purpose of this study w...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Antibiotics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/12/4/788 |
| _version_ | 1797606611930316800 |
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| author | Sara Debes Jon Birger Haug Birgitte Freiesleben De Blasio Jonas Christoffer Lindstrøm Christine Monceyron Jonassen Susanne Gjeruldsen Dudman |
| author_facet | Sara Debes Jon Birger Haug Birgitte Freiesleben De Blasio Jonas Christoffer Lindstrøm Christine Monceyron Jonassen Susanne Gjeruldsen Dudman |
| author_sort | Sara Debes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Development of antibiotic resistance, a threat to global health, is driven by inappropriate antibiotic usage. Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are frequently treated empirically with antibiotics, despite the fact that a majority of the infections are caused by viruses. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of antibiotic treatment in hospitalized adults with viral RTIs, and to investigate factors influencing the antibiotic decision-making. We conducted a retrospective observational study of patients ≥ 18 years, hospitalized in 2015–2018 with viral RTIs. Microbiological data were taken from the laboratory information system and information on antibiotic treatment drawn from the hospital records. To investigate decisions for prescribing antibiotic treatment, we evaluated relevant factors such as laboratory and radiological results, in addition to clinical signs. In 951 cases without secondary bacterial RTIs (median age 73 years, 53% female), 720 (76%) were prescribed antibiotic treatment, most frequently beta-lactamase-sensitive penicillins, but cephalosporins were prescribed as first-line in 16% of the cases. The median length of treatment (LOT) in the patients treated with antibiotics was seven days. Patients treated with antibiotics had an average of two days longer hospital stay compared to patients with no such treatment, but no difference in mortality was found. Our study revealed that there is still a role for antimicrobial stewardship to further improve antibiotic use in patients admitted for viral RTIs in a country with relatively low antibiotic consumption. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:17:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-20637330a5c2404b80b864f036512664 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-6382 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:17:38Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Antibiotics |
| spelling | doaj.art-20637330a5c2404b80b864f0365126642023-11-17T18:04:04ZengMDPI AGAntibiotics2079-63822023-04-0112478810.3390/antibiotics12040788Antibiotic Consumption in a Cohort of Hospitalized Adults with Viral Respiratory Tract InfectionSara Debes0Jon Birger Haug1Birgitte Freiesleben De Blasio2Jonas Christoffer Lindstrøm3Christine Monceyron Jonassen4Susanne Gjeruldsen Dudman5Center for Laboratory Medicine, Østfold Hospital Trust Kalnes, 1714 Grålum, NorwayDepartment of Infection Control, Østfold Hospital Trust Kalnes, 1714 Grålum, NorwayDivision of Infection Control and Environmental Health, Department of Methods Development and Analytics, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, 0213 Oslo, NorwayDivision of Infection Control and Environmental Health, Department of Methods Development and Analytics, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, 0213 Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Virology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, 0213 Oslo, NorwayInstitute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, 0372 Oslo, NorwayDevelopment of antibiotic resistance, a threat to global health, is driven by inappropriate antibiotic usage. Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are frequently treated empirically with antibiotics, despite the fact that a majority of the infections are caused by viruses. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of antibiotic treatment in hospitalized adults with viral RTIs, and to investigate factors influencing the antibiotic decision-making. We conducted a retrospective observational study of patients ≥ 18 years, hospitalized in 2015–2018 with viral RTIs. Microbiological data were taken from the laboratory information system and information on antibiotic treatment drawn from the hospital records. To investigate decisions for prescribing antibiotic treatment, we evaluated relevant factors such as laboratory and radiological results, in addition to clinical signs. In 951 cases without secondary bacterial RTIs (median age 73 years, 53% female), 720 (76%) were prescribed antibiotic treatment, most frequently beta-lactamase-sensitive penicillins, but cephalosporins were prescribed as first-line in 16% of the cases. The median length of treatment (LOT) in the patients treated with antibiotics was seven days. Patients treated with antibiotics had an average of two days longer hospital stay compared to patients with no such treatment, but no difference in mortality was found. Our study revealed that there is still a role for antimicrobial stewardship to further improve antibiotic use in patients admitted for viral RTIs in a country with relatively low antibiotic consumption.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/12/4/788viral respiratory tract infectionhospitalizedadultsmicrobiologyantibioticdecision-making |
| spellingShingle | Sara Debes Jon Birger Haug Birgitte Freiesleben De Blasio Jonas Christoffer Lindstrøm Christine Monceyron Jonassen Susanne Gjeruldsen Dudman Antibiotic Consumption in a Cohort of Hospitalized Adults with Viral Respiratory Tract Infection Antibiotics viral respiratory tract infection hospitalized adults microbiology antibiotic decision-making |
| title | Antibiotic Consumption in a Cohort of Hospitalized Adults with Viral Respiratory Tract Infection |
| title_full | Antibiotic Consumption in a Cohort of Hospitalized Adults with Viral Respiratory Tract Infection |
| title_fullStr | Antibiotic Consumption in a Cohort of Hospitalized Adults with Viral Respiratory Tract Infection |
| title_full_unstemmed | Antibiotic Consumption in a Cohort of Hospitalized Adults with Viral Respiratory Tract Infection |
| title_short | Antibiotic Consumption in a Cohort of Hospitalized Adults with Viral Respiratory Tract Infection |
| title_sort | antibiotic consumption in a cohort of hospitalized adults with viral respiratory tract infection |
| topic | viral respiratory tract infection hospitalized adults microbiology antibiotic decision-making |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/12/4/788 |
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