An essential component of antimicrobial stewardship during the COVID-19 pandemic in the intensive care unit: de-escalation.

Background: The antimicrobial de-escalation strategy (ADE) plays a crucial role in antimicrobial stewardship, reducing the likelihood of bacterial resistance. This study aims to evaluate how often the intensive care unit (ICU) used ADE for empirical treatment during COVID-19.

Materials: Adult ICU patients receiving empirical antimicrobial therapy for bacterial infections were retrospectively studied from September 2020 to December 2021.