Antibiotic Prescriptions for Upper Respiratory Infections Plummeted in 2020 Amid Public Health Measures Due to COVID-19: Study

Emergency room visits for upper respiratory infections declined during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic after public health safety measures, including physical distancing and school closings, were put into place. A study, “COVID-19 and Antibiotic Prescribing in Pediatric Primary Care,” to be published in the January 2022 Pediatrics (published online Jan. 11), finds an accompanying 77% decrease in antibiotic prescriptions in April 2020 compared with April 2019. This decline was largely sustained during the following 14 months of the pandemic, according to the study, published online Jan. 11. Researchers reviewed data on antibiotic prescribing in 27 Philadelphia pediatric primary care practices, finding 18,935 antibiotic prescriptions from April to December in 2020, down from 69,327 total antibiotic prescriptions during those same months in 2019, a 72.7% reduction. The reduction in prescriptions at visits for respiratory tract infections accounted for 87.3% of the overall decrease. The study authors suggest that research should examine changes in antibiotic prescribing with the relaxation of social distancing in some places and the authorization of COVID-19 vaccinations for children, as well as the impact on antibiotic resistance and other antibiotic-related adverse effects.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.