Antibiotics overused in coronavirus patients hospitalized early on in pandemic: study

Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at the start of the pandemic a year ago were overprescribed antibiotics, suggests the findings of new research from the Pew Charitable Trusts. 

The study — said to be one of the largest to date on antibiotic use in hospitalized COVID-19 patients — was conducted through the analysis of electronic health records of nearly 6,000 hospital admissions from February through July of last year.  The researchers found that more than half of hospital admissions — 52% — resulted in at least one antibiotic prescription. Some 36% of admissions resulted in multiple antibiotics prescriptions during hospitalization, per the study. What’s more, in 96% of cases, the patient received the antibiotic within the first two days of being admitted to a hospital.