Azithromycin use before and during the COVID- 19 pandemic and the impact of implementing national evidence-based guidelines in Qatar

IF 2.3 Q2 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health Pub Date : 2024-11-01 DOI:10.1016/j.cegh.2024.101843

Adeel A. Butt , Sherin Shams , Hanaa Nafady-Hego , Zain Bhutta , Atika Jabeen , Aimon B. Malik , Anil G. Thomas , Samah Saleem , Aftab M. Azad , Muna Almaslamani , Abdullatif Alkhal , Abdul-Badi Abou-Samra

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Initial small, uncontrolled studies suggested a beneficial effect of azithromycin in individuals with COVID-19. However, subsequent studies have not confirmed its effectiveness. We assessed azithromycin usage before and during the pandemic in a national healthcare system in Qatar and the impact of implementation of evidence-based guidelines upon prescription rates.

Methods

Using electronic medical records, we retrieved all azithromycin prescriptions from 2019 to 2022 at the public healthcare system in Qatar which provides over 85 % of healthcare in Qatar. Azithromycin prescription numbers and rates/100,000 population were calculated and compared over time. A course was defined as any azithromycin prescription for ≥5 days with no gap of >10 days. Courses were considered COVID-19-related if prescribed −3 to +10 days post positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR. Prescription rates before and after the pandemic, and before and after evidence-based guidelines implementation (in June 2020) were compared.

Results

During the study period, 203,806 azithromycin courses were prescribed to 166,062 individuals. Overall number of courses increased in the first 2 quarters of 2020 (average 12,857/quarter in 2019 to average of 19,297 in Q1-Q2 of 2020) and then dropped to 9881/quarter over the next 6 quarters. COVID-19 related azithromycin courses peaked in.

2020-Q2 (13,691) and dropped to 2836 for 2020-Q3, 1410 for 2020-Q4; 5465 for 2021-Q1, and 4288 for 2021-Q2. Stringent COVID-19 guidelines in June 2020 rapidly reduced azithromycin usage.

Conclusions

Azithromycin prescriptions increased immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic, but rapidly declined immediately after implementing evidence-based guidelines.

查看原文本刊更多论文

阿奇霉素在COVID-19大流行之前和期间的使用情况以及在卡塔尔实施国家循证指南的影响

背景最初的小型非对照研究表明，阿奇霉素对 COVID-19 患者有一定疗效。然而，随后的研究并未证实其有效性。我们评估了大流行之前和期间卡塔尔国家医疗保健系统中阿奇霉素的使用情况，以及循证指南的实施对处方率的影响。方法利用电子病历，我们检索了卡塔尔公共医疗保健系统 2019 年至 2022 年的所有阿奇霉素处方，该系统提供卡塔尔 85% 以上的医疗保健服务。我们计算了阿奇霉素处方数量和处方率/100,000 人，并对不同时期的处方数量和处方率进行了比较。阿奇霉素处方≥5天且间隔时间不超过10天即为一个疗程。如果在 SARS-CoV-2 PCR 阳性后 -3 天至 +10 天开出处方，则视为与 COVID-19 相关的疗程。对大流行前后以及循证指南实施前后（2020 年 6 月）的处方率进行了比较。结果在研究期间，共为 166,062 人处方了 203,806 个阿奇霉素疗程。2020 年前两个季度的总疗程数有所增加（2019 年平均为 12857 个疗程/季度，2020 年第一季度至第二季度平均为 19297 个疗程/季度），随后 6 个季度降至 9881 个疗程/季度。与 COVID-19 相关的阿奇霉素疗程在 2020 年第 2 季度达到峰值（13,691 个疗程），随后降至 2020 年第 3 季度的 2836 个疗程、2020 年第 4 季度的 1410 个疗程；2021 年第 1 季度的 5465 个疗程和 2021 年第 2 季度的 4288 个疗程。结论阿奇霉素处方在 COVID-19 大流行后立即增加，但在实施循证指南后立即迅速减少。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH-

CiteScore

4.60

自引率

7.70%

发文量

218

审稿时长

66 days

期刊介绍： Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health (CEGH) is a multidisciplinary journal and it is published four times (March, June, September, December) a year. The mandate of CEGH is to promote articles on clinical epidemiology with focus on developing countries in the context of global health. We also accept articles from other countries. It publishes original research work across all disciplines of medicine and allied sciences, related to clinical epidemiology and global health. The journal publishes Original articles, Review articles, Evidence Summaries, Letters to the Editor. All articles published in CEGH are peer-reviewed and published online for immediate access and citation.