Returned Rate and Changed Patterns of Systemic Antibiotic Use in Ambulatory Care in Hungary after the Pandemic-A Longitudinal Ecological Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the epidemiology of infectious diseases and changed the operation of health care systems and health care seeking behavior. Our study aimed to analyze the utilization of systemic antibiotics in ambulatory care in Hungary after the COVID-19 pandemic and compare it to the period before COVID. We defined three periods (24 months each): Before COVID, COVID, and After COVID.

Hospital Antibiotic Consumption before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Hungary.

The aim of this study was to assess antibiotic use in the Hungarian hospital care sector during and before the pandemic. Aggregated systemic antibiotic (ATC: J01) utilisation data were obtained for the 2010-2021 period. Classifications and calculations were performed according to the WHO ATC/DDD index and expressed as DDD per 1000 inhabitants and per day (DID), DDD per 100 patient-days (DHPD) and DDD/discharge.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Ambulatory Care Antibiotic Use in Hungary: A Population-Based Observational Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions have potentially impacted the use of antibiotics. We aimed to analyze the use of systemic antibiotics (J01) in ambulatory care in Hungary during two pandemic years, to compare it with pre-COVID levels (January 2015-December 2019), and to describe trends based on monthly utilization. Our main findings were that during the studied COVID-19 pandemic period, compared to the pre-COVID level, an impressive 23.

[Deprescribing: an essential part of rational pharmacotherapy].

Deprescribing is a planned, systematic process supervised by a healthcare professional. It is considered to be a fundamental part of good prescribing. Deprescribing can be defined as the complete withdrawal of medications as well as dose reduction.