In-Hospital Antibiotic Use for COVID-19: Facts and Rationales Assessed through a Mixed-Methods Study
It is well known that during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, antibiotics were overprescribed. However, less is known regarding the arguments that have led to this overuse. Our aim was to understand the factors associated with in-hospital antibiotic prescription for COVID-19, and th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/11/11/3194 |
| _version_ | 1811153736969486336 |
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| author | Laura Elena Stoichitoiu Larisa Pinte Alexandr Ceasovschih Roxana Carmen Cernat Nicoleta Dorina Vlad Vlad Padureanu Laurentiu Sorodoc Adriana Hristea Adrian Purcarea Camelia Badea Cristian Baicus |
| author_facet | Laura Elena Stoichitoiu Larisa Pinte Alexandr Ceasovschih Roxana Carmen Cernat Nicoleta Dorina Vlad Vlad Padureanu Laurentiu Sorodoc Adriana Hristea Adrian Purcarea Camelia Badea Cristian Baicus |
| author_sort | Laura Elena Stoichitoiu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It is well known that during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, antibiotics were overprescribed. However, less is known regarding the arguments that have led to this overuse. Our aim was to understand the factors associated with in-hospital antibiotic prescription for COVID-19, and the rationale behind it. We chose a convergent design for this mixed-methods study. Quantitative data was prospectively obtained from 533 adult patients admitted in six hospitals (services of internal medicine, infectious diseases and pneumology). Fifty-six percent of the patients received antibiotics. The qualitative data was obtained from interviewing 14 physicians active in the same departments in which the enrolled patients were hospitalized. Thematic analysis was used for the qualitative approach. Our study revealed that doctors based their decisions to prescribe antibiotics on a complex interplay of factors regarding the simultaneous appearance of consolidation on the chest computer tomography together with a worsening of clinical conditions suggestive of bacterial infection and/or an increase in inflammatory markers. Besides these features which might suggest bacterial co-/suprainfection, doctors also prescribed antibiotics in situations of uncertainty, in patients with severe disease, or with multiple associated comorbidities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:10:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6d9f988f64494f9c983e988ae1a74ad5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0383 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:10:17Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-6d9f988f64494f9c983e988ae1a74ad52023-11-23T14:18:24ZengMDPI AGJournal of Clinical Medicine2077-03832022-06-011111319410.3390/jcm11113194In-Hospital Antibiotic Use for COVID-19: Facts and Rationales Assessed through a Mixed-Methods StudyLaura Elena Stoichitoiu0Larisa Pinte1Alexandr Ceasovschih2Roxana Carmen Cernat3Nicoleta Dorina Vlad4Vlad Padureanu5Laurentiu Sorodoc6Adriana Hristea7Adrian Purcarea8Camelia Badea9Cristian Baicus10Faculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, RomaniaFaculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, RomaniaInternal Medicine, Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700111 Iasi, RomaniaFaculty of Medicine, Ovidius University, 900527 Constanta, RomaniaFaculty of Medicine, Ovidius University, 900527 Constanta, RomaniaFaculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Craiova, 200349 Craiova, RomaniaInternal Medicine, Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700111 Iasi, RomaniaFaculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, RomaniaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Sacele County Hospital, 505600 Brasov, RomaniaFaculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, RomaniaFaculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, RomaniaIt is well known that during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, antibiotics were overprescribed. However, less is known regarding the arguments that have led to this overuse. Our aim was to understand the factors associated with in-hospital antibiotic prescription for COVID-19, and the rationale behind it. We chose a convergent design for this mixed-methods study. Quantitative data was prospectively obtained from 533 adult patients admitted in six hospitals (services of internal medicine, infectious diseases and pneumology). Fifty-six percent of the patients received antibiotics. The qualitative data was obtained from interviewing 14 physicians active in the same departments in which the enrolled patients were hospitalized. Thematic analysis was used for the qualitative approach. Our study revealed that doctors based their decisions to prescribe antibiotics on a complex interplay of factors regarding the simultaneous appearance of consolidation on the chest computer tomography together with a worsening of clinical conditions suggestive of bacterial infection and/or an increase in inflammatory markers. Besides these features which might suggest bacterial co-/suprainfection, doctors also prescribed antibiotics in situations of uncertainty, in patients with severe disease, or with multiple associated comorbidities.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/11/11/3194COVID-19SARS-CoV-2antibioticsantibacterial agentsmixed methodsqualitative |
| spellingShingle | Laura Elena Stoichitoiu Larisa Pinte Alexandr Ceasovschih Roxana Carmen Cernat Nicoleta Dorina Vlad Vlad Padureanu Laurentiu Sorodoc Adriana Hristea Adrian Purcarea Camelia Badea Cristian Baicus In-Hospital Antibiotic Use for COVID-19: Facts and Rationales Assessed through a Mixed-Methods Study Journal of Clinical Medicine COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 antibiotics antibacterial agents mixed methods qualitative |
| title | In-Hospital Antibiotic Use for COVID-19: Facts and Rationales Assessed through a Mixed-Methods Study |
| title_full | In-Hospital Antibiotic Use for COVID-19: Facts and Rationales Assessed through a Mixed-Methods Study |
| title_fullStr | In-Hospital Antibiotic Use for COVID-19: Facts and Rationales Assessed through a Mixed-Methods Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | In-Hospital Antibiotic Use for COVID-19: Facts and Rationales Assessed through a Mixed-Methods Study |
| title_short | In-Hospital Antibiotic Use for COVID-19: Facts and Rationales Assessed through a Mixed-Methods Study |
| title_sort | in hospital antibiotic use for covid 19 facts and rationales assessed through a mixed methods study |
| topic | COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 antibiotics antibacterial agents mixed methods qualitative |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/11/11/3194 |
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