Antibiotic Prescription Patterns in the Post-COVID-19 Era in Six European Countries: A Cross-Sectional Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background/objective

After the relaxation of acute containment measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, Europe experienced a substantial rebound of non-COVID infections surpassing pre-pandemic levels and causing significant clinical burden. The aim of our study is to analyze outpatient prescription data in Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the UK, and Poland in order to assess trends and disparities in the post-COVID landscape.

Methods

The present cross-sectional study utilized data from six independently collected datasets containing details from longitudinal prescription (LRx) databases. We aimed to evaluate changes in the number of antibiotic prescriptions issued in 2022 (the first post-pandemic year) compared to 2021 (a pandemic year), as well as subsequent developments in

SUBMITTER: Kostev K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12466364 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature