In-hospital use of antibiotics in internal medicine: A cross-sectional study before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in a COVID-19-free ward.

Background: Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic impacted the use of antibiotics in hospitalized patients. However, most data on antibiotic therapy (AT) were recorded in COVID-19 settings. This study analyzed the appropriateness of AT in the real-world scenario of a COVID-19-free internal medicine ward before, during, and after the pandemic.