Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on Outpatient Antibiotic Prescriptions in the United States

Deanna J Buehrle; M Hong Nguyen; Marilyn M Wagener; Cornelius J Clancy

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofaa575

Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on Outpatient Antibiotic Prescriptions in the United States

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020 Dec 22;7(12):ofaa575. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofaa575. eCollection 2020 Dec.

Authors

Deanna J Buehrle¹, M Hong Nguyen², Marilyn M Wagener², Cornelius J Clancy²

Affiliations

¹ VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
² Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

Abstract

In April 2020, there were significant reductions in prescription fills of each of the 10 most prescribed outpatient antibiotics in the United States. Monthly azithromycin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, and levofloxacin fills did not rebound significantly from April through July 2020. Coronavirus disease 2019 had an immediate and sustained impact on US outpatient antibiotic prescribing.

Keywords: COVID-19; United States; antibiotics; coronavirus disease 2019; outpatient; prescriptions.