Antibiotics (Jan 2021)

Evolution of Antimicrobial Consumption During the First Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic

  • Santiago Grau,
  • Daniel Echeverria-Esnal,
  • Silvia Gómez-Zorrilla,
  • Maria Eugenia Navarrete-Rouco,
  • Joan Ramon Masclans,
  • Merce Espona,
  • Maria Pilar Gracia-Arnillas,
  • Xavier Duran,
  • Merce Comas,
  • Juan Pablo Horcajada,
  • Olivia Ferrández

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics10020132
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 2
p. 132

Abstract

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Background: The first wave of COVID-19 pandemic may have significantly impacted antimicrobial consumption in hospitals. The objective of this study was to assess the evolution of antimicrobial consumption during this period. Methods: A retrospective quasi-experimental before–after study was conducted in a Spanish tertiary care hospital. The study compared two periods: pre-pandemic, from January 2018 to February 2020, and during the COVID-19 pandemic from March to June 2020. Antimicrobial consumption was analyzed monthly as defined daily doses (DDD)/100 bed-days and overall hospital and ICU consumption were evaluated. Results: An increase in the hospital consumption was noticed. Although only ceftaroline achieved statistical significance (p = 0.014), a rise was observed in most of the studied antimicrobials. A clear temporal pattern was detected. While an increase in ceftriaxone and azithromycin was observed during March, an increment in the consumption of daptomycin, carbapenems, linezolid, ceftaroline, novel cephalosporin/β-lactamase inhibitors or triazoles during April–May was noticed. In the ICU, these findings were more evident, namely ceftriaxone (p = 0.029), carbapenems (p = 0.002), daptomycin (p = 0.002), azithromycin (p = 0.030), and linezolid (p = 0.011) but followed a similar temporal pattern. Conclusion: An increase in the antimicrobial consumption during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic was noticed, especially in the ICU. Availability of updated protocols and antimicrobial stewardship programs are essential to optimize these outcomes.

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