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Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on prescription patterns and antibiotic use: Insights from three military health facilities

Ukoha-Kalu, Blessing Onyinye; Abubakar, Mustapha Muhammed; Loosli, Kathrin; Isah, Abdulmuminu; Usman, Mustafa; Fatokun, Oluwatobi; Amidu, Ibrahim; Ibrahim, Yusuf; Ijaiya, Mukhtar Dotun

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Authors

Mustapha Muhammed Abubakar

Kathrin Loosli

Abdulmuminu Isah

Mustafa Usman

Oluwatobi Fatokun

Ibrahim Amidu

Yusuf Ibrahim

Mukhtar Dotun Ijaiya



Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted health systems globally and there are suggestions it impacted antibiotics prescribing patterns in clinical practice. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prescribing patterns in three Nigerian military health facilities and investigate the factors associated with antibiotic prescriptions. Methods: This was a two-year cross-sectional retrospective study. Three hospitals and a total of 11,590 prescriptions were purposively and conveniently sampled respectively. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and International Network of Rational Use of Drugs (INRUD) prescribing indicators were used to assess for polypharmacy, injection use, use of antibiotics, use of generic drugs and prescriptions from essential drug lists for the periods of the pandemic and before the pandemic. Indicators from both periods were compared for statistical significance using the independent t-test. Generalized linear modelling was applied to assess the factors associated with antibiotic prescriptions. The relationship between the receipt of antibiotics and independent variables was presented using incident risk ratios (IRR). Results: Our findings showed that all five WHO/INRUD prescribing indicators were above the reference limit for the two-year study period. The study found there was a significant statistical difference between the COVID- and non-COVID-19 periods, with polypharmacy and antibiotic use indicators elevated during the pandemic compared to the latter. COVID-19 (IRR = 1.09), comorbidity (IRR = 1.74), pregnancy (IRR = 0.93), out-of-pocket payments (IRR = 1.10) and the inpatient department (IRR = 1.51) were associated with antibiotic prescriptions. Conclusions: This provides insight on impact of the pandemic on prescription patterns and advocates for stewardship programs in clinical settings to ensure the rational use of drugs.

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 26, 2023
Online Publication Date Oct 28, 2023
Publication Date 2023-10
Deposit Date Oct 28, 2023
Publicly Available Date Jan 4, 2024
Journal Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy
Print ISSN 1551-7411
Electronic ISSN 1934-8150
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 20
Issue 2
Pages 157-162
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2023.10.013
Keywords Antibiotics; Prescribing; COVID-19; Antimicrobial resistance
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/26623348
Publisher URL https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1551741123004655?via%3Dihub

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