Daptomycin

Staphylococcus aureus

Bacteria

Biology

Antimicrobial

Defined daily dose

Cephalosporin

Linezolid

Antibiotic resistance

Drug

Ceftriaxone

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Antimicrobial stewardship

Genetics

Retrospective cohort study

Antibiotics

Microbiology

Infectious disease (medical specialty)

Internal medicine

Sociology

Pharmacology

Medicine

Consumption (sociology)

Vancomycin

Pandemic

Azithromycin

Disease

Social science

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.

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