“Many patients have received antibiotics unnecessarily when they have had COVID-19. We need to help prescribers use antibiotics less, especially when a viral diagnosis is known."- Dr. Derek MacFaddenAntibiotics were commonly prescribed to older outpatients with COVID-19 in Ontario during the first two years of the pandemic, even though antibiotics do not work against the virus. A study led by Dr. Derek MacFadden published in Clinical Infectious Diseases found that 22% of nursing home residents with COVID-19 had at least one antibiotic prescription in the week before or after their diagnosis, compared with 13% of older adults living in the community, both higher than pre-pandemic prescription rates.
Because COVID-19 has similar symptoms to many bacterial infections, doctors might prescribe antibiotics to relieve a patient’s symptoms while waiting for a diagnosis. Interestingly, antibiotic prescription did not decline much even after a PCR test confirmed a patient had COVID-19.
This misuse of antibiotics is a problem, not only for patients who may face unnecessary side-effects, but because it contributes to the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, one of the biggest health threats of our time. However, the researchers found that patients vaccinated against COVID-19 had significantly lower rates of antibiotic prescription. This suggests that the vaccine may play an important role in antibiotic stewardship.
“Many patients have received antibiotics unnecessarily when they have had COVID-19. We need to help prescribers use antibiotics less, especially when a viral diagnosis is known. Fortunately, COVID-19 vaccination seems to be associated with reduced antibiotic use in those with COVID-19, adding to the list of benefits of the vaccine,"- Dr. Derek MacFadden, clinician scientist at The Ottawa Hospital and assistant professor at the University of Ottawa.
Authors: Derek R MacFadden, Colleen Maxwell, Dawn Bowdish, Susan Bronskill, James Brooks, Kevin Brown, Lori L Burrows, Anna Clarke, Bradley Langford, Elizabeth Leung, Valerie Leung, Doug Manuel, Allison McGeer, Caroline Nott, Sharmistha Mishra, Andrew M Morris, Sumit Raybardhan, Mia Sapin, Kevin L Schwartz, Miranda So, Jean-Paul R Soucy, Nick Daneman
Core Resources: ICES uOttawa
Funding: ICES, Canadian Institutes of Health Research. All research at The Ottawa Hospital is enabled by generous donors to The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.
The Ottawa Hospital is a leading academic health, research and learning hospital proudly affiliated with the University of Ottawa and supported by The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.
