Physicians’ irrational attitudes on the antibiotic prescribing for the treatment of COVID-19 in Turkey: A multicenter survey

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Polat Yuluğ D., Öztürk B., BAYDAR TOPRAK O., ÖZTÜRK E., KÖKTÜRK N., Naycı S.

BMC Health Services Research, cilt.24, sa.1, 2024 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 24 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2024
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1186/s12913-024-11110-z
  • Dergi Adı: BMC Health Services Research
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, ABI/INFORM, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Veterinary Science Database, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Antibiotic stewardship, Covid-19, Physicians
  • Çukurova Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Background: The inappropriate and excessive use of antibiotics during the coronavirus pandemic has become an important issue. Objective: Our primary aim is to ascertain the attitudes of physicians toward the antibiotics prescribing for the treatment of COVID-19 in Turkey. Our secondary aim was to identify factors affecting to physicians’ decisions regarding antibiotic therapy for the treatment of COVID-19 and risk factors associated with antibiotic overprescribing. Methods: It was a multicenter cross-sectional survey. Physicians from 63 different cities were invited to survey through social media (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp). Data were collected from respondents through an online questionnaires during November-December 2021. Results: The survey was completed by 571 participants from 63 cities. Pulmonologists comprised the majority (35.20%), followed by internal medical specialists (27.85%) and general practitioners (23.29%). The rates of participants who started empirical antibiotics in the outpatient, ward, and ICU (intensive care unit) were 70.2%, 85.5%, and 74.6%, respectively. When the practice of prescribing antibiotics by physicians for the treatment of COVID-19 in outpatients was compared according to the healthcare setting (primary, secondary, tertiary care hospitals) no significant difference was found. Sputum purulence (68.2%) was recognized as the most important factor for the decision of antibiotic therapy, followed by procalcitonin levels (64.9%) and abnormal radiological findings (50.3%). The most prescribed antibiotics were respiratory quinolones. (48%, 65.9%, 62.7% outpatient, ward, ICU respectively) Conclusions: In this study, we found that physicians frequently had irrational attitudes toward antibiotic prescription to COVID-19 patients, including those with minor diseases. Our findings underline that the necessity of particular, workable interventions to guarantee the prudent use of antibiotics in COVID-19.