Did the COVID-19 pandemic impact antibiotic prescribing patterns among dentists?

Patient records from Wits Oral Health Centre were collected over two years (March 2019-March 2021). The records were divided into two groups: pre-COVID-19 (March 2019-March 2020) and COVID-19 (March 2020-March 2021). The total sample size was 698 systematically selected patient records who received antibiotics.

A systematic random sampling method was used to select a sample of patients who received prescriptions for antibiotics. Patients were included based on their treatment time and need for antibiotic prescription. Patients whose records were missing information or treated by independent private practitioners for whom records access was not feasible were excluded.

The extracted data contained information regarding the patients' demographics, medical histories, dental condition, dental procedure, antibiotic type, frequency, dosage, duration of use, and prescribers' disciplines. The information was categorized and captured in Microsoft Excel to analyze and create figures and tables. Analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, chi-squared, and z-tests to compare pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 prescription patterns in RStudio.

From an initial pool of 44,067 patient consultations, a systematic random sample of 698 records met the eligibility criteria for inclusion in this study. The sample was divided between pre-COVID-19 (n = 350) and COVID-19 (n = 348). A significant increase in antibiotic prescriptions was found during COVID-19 (1571 prescriptions) compared to pre-COVID-19 (1109 prescriptions). The most commonly prescribed antibiotics were amoxicillin and metronidazole. Specifically, amoxicillin was used in most cases before and during COVID-19. The combination of amoxicillin with metronidazole increased from 16.6% pre-COVID-19 to 24.4% COVID-19. It was found that many of the antibiotics prescribed from both periods were not clinically indicated (53.1% pre-COVID-19 and 54.3% COVID-19).

The authors concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased antibiotic prescriptions despite fewer in-person consultations. This was likely due to insufficient surgical intervention and reliance on antibiotics to treat dental conditions. The lack of proper antibiotic use raises concerns regarding dental practitioners' appropriate use of antibiotics. There is an urgent need for improved antibiotic stewardship to prevent the misuse and growing public health issue of antimicrobial resistance.