Antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory infections during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: Patterns in a nationwide telehealth service provider.

Jeffrey A Linder Stephen D Persell Marcella A KelleyMark FriedbergNoah J GoldsteinTara K KnightKatrina M KaiserJason N Doctor Wendy Jean MackJason TibbelsBridget McCabeSteve HaenchenDaniella Meeker

Published in: Infection control and hospital epidemiology (2024)

We examined 3,046,538 acute respiratory infection (ARI) encounters with 6,103 national telehealth physicians from January 2019 to October 2021. The antibiotic prescribing rates were 44% for all ARIs; 46% were antibiotic appropriate; 65% were potentially appropriate; 19% resulted from inappropriate diagnoses; and 10% were related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) diagnosis.

Keyphrases

coronavirus disease
primary care
liver failure
respiratory failure
drug induced
respiratory syndrome coronavirus
aortic dissection
healthcare
mental health
adverse drug
respiratory tract
emergency department
intensive care unit