Azithromycin consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia, 2020

Autor: Josip Begovac, Ana Soldo, Nikolina Bogdanić, Loris Mocibob, Toni Vidović
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Viral Diseases
Databases
Factual
Epidemiology
Azithromycin
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Geographical locations
Medical Conditions
Mycoplasma
Anti-Infective Agents
Antibiotics
Pandemic
Medicine and Health Sciences
Medicine
Mycoplasma Pneumoniae
Hospital pharmacy
Practice Patterns
Physicians'
Virus Testing
Multidisciplinary
Antimicrobials
Drugs
Bacterial Pathogens
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Europe
Hospitalization
Infectious Diseases
Medical Microbiology
Drug Therapy
Combination
Pathogens
Research Article
medicine.drug
Hydroxychloroquine
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Croatia
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
Science
Mollicutes
Microbiology
Antiviral Agents
COVID-19 pandemic
2020
Diagnostic Medicine
Microbial Control
Humans
European Union
Medical prescription
Microbial Pathogens
Pandemics
Pharmacology
Consumption (economics)
Bacteria
business.industry
SARS-CoV-2
Organisms
Biology and Life Sciences
Covid 19
Drug Utilization
COVID-19 Drug Treatment
Co-Infections
Initial phase
People and places
business
Demography
Zdroj: PLoS ONE, Vol 17, Iss 2, p e0263437 (2022)
PLoS ONE
Popis: Background During the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was great enthusiasm for the use of azithromycin with or without hydroxychloroquine. Objectives We analyzed azithromycin consumption in Croatia in 2020 and compared this to the period 2017–2019. Methods Azithromycin consumption was evaluated using the IQVIA Adriatic d.o.o. database which collects data on azithromycin distribution from wholesale pharmacies to hospital and non-hospital pharmacies in Croatia. We analyzed data for the period from January 2017 to December 2020. Azithromycin distribution was measured as days of therapy (DOT) and reported as per 1000 inhabitants or per 1000 inhabitant-days. Results In the period 2017–2020, total azithromycin DOT in Croatia increased in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 (1.76, 1.91, 1.91 and 2.01/1000 inhabitant-days, respectively). Non-hospital pharmacies received 2.18 times and hospital pharmacies 4.39 times more DOT units/1000 inhabitants of azithromycin in March 2020 compared to the average distribution rate in March 2017–2019. During the peak of the COVID-19 epidemic (November and December 2020) azithromycin distribution increased considerably in hospital (3.62 and 3.19 times, respectively) and non-hospital pharmacies (1.93 and 1.84 times, respectively) compared to the average consumption in the same months in 2017–2019. Conclusions Our data showed increased azithromycin distribution in the period 2017–2020 which indicates azithromycin overuse. Preliminary information on COVID-19 treatments with a desire to offer and try what is available even in the absence of strong scientific evidence may have influenced practices of antimicrobial prescriptions.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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