Antibiotic dispensing during first year of COVID-19 pandemic in Brazilian public hospitals.

Aim: To evaluate the impact of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic on antibiotic dispensation in three Brazilian hospitals.

Methods

Stock movement was accessed from pharmacy databases and microbiological reports from 2018 to 2021.

Results

Reduced antibiotic dispensation occurred during 2020 in all hospitals. The most significant reduction was in April at Hospital Doutor Jayme dos Santos Neves (∼58%), and in May at Hospital Doutor Roberto Arnizaut Silvares (∼66%) and Hospital Doutor Dório Silva (∼29%). However, azithromycin dispensation increased in all hospitals in 2020. Macrolide-resistant bacterial isolates rose from 66.6% in 2019 to 77.1% in 2020 and 88.3% in 2021.

Conclusion

Despite reduced antibiotic dispensation, the increase in azithromycin consumption in 2020 highlights the urgency to monitor macrolide resistance after the pandemic and improve stewardship activities.