Ambulatory antibiotic use in France showed significant decline during the COVID-19 pandemic

Changes in the ambulatory use of antibiotics in France due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2022: a nationwide time-series analysis

2025-03-24

(Press-News.org) Research Brief

Background and Goal: The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures in France affected health care access and prescribing patterns, leading to significant changes in outpatient (ambulatory) antibiotic use. This study examined how systemic antibiotic use in France changed from 2020 to 2022 compared to expected trends.

Study Approach: Researchers used nationwide health insurance data covering 67 million people to track monthly antibiotic prescriptions from January 2010 to March 2022. They applied interrupted time-series analysis to measure changes in antibiotic use following the first national lockdown on March 17, 2020. Main Results:

Use of most antibiotics significantly decreased after the first lockdown and remained lower for at least 12 months compared with expected levels.

Amoxicillin (−27.5% at 3 months; −55.5% at 12 months)

Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (−10.9% at 3 months; −24.9% at 12 months)

Cefepime (−22% at 3 months; −8.3% at 12 months)

Fosfomycin (−10.4% at 3 months; −8.6% at 12 months)

Some antibiotics (e.g., colistin, phenoxymethylpenicillin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole) with chronic indications temporarily increased

Azithromycin use did not decrease after the first lockdown (−6.3% at 3 months, which was not statistically significant) and actually increased over 12 months (+2.7%)

Why It Matters: The pandemic significantly reduced antibiotic use, particularly for those with indications for the treatment of respiratory and urinary tract infections, which may indicate that some antibiotics were overprescribed before COVID-19.

Changes in the Ambulatory Use of Antibiotics in France Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020- 2022: A Nationwide Time-Series Analysis

Nicolas Rousselot, MD, MSc, et al

Department of General Practice, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France

Inserm U1219, Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, Bordeaux, France

PERMANENT LINK

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Many patients with chlamydia and gonorrhea are not receiving CDC-recommended treatment in primary care

2025-03-24

Original Research Background and Goal: Prompt treatment of chlamydia and gonorrhea following a confirmed diagnosis is essential to prevent complications and reduce transmission. Adherence to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) treatment guidelines in primary care settings remains a concern. This study aimed to quantify the overall treatment rate for chlamydia and gonorrhea and identify factors associated with treatment delays and disparities. Study Approach: Researchers analyzed electronic health record data from the PRIME registry, which includes information ...

“About me” care card tool can improve care planning and cognitive health management

2025-03-24

Original Research Background and Goal: Existing tools for cognitive impairment focus primarily on clinical diagnosis but do not support discussions that address patients’ personal fears, goals, and social needs. Study Approach: Researchers conducted a feasibility study using a community and user-centered design approach to develop and test the “About Me” Care Card, a tool developed based on shared decision-making principles. An environmental scan identified gaps in existing cognitive care tools, and a global steering committee made up of health care professionals, patient advocacy groups, ...

Chi, Advincula named Materials Research Society Fellows

2025-03-24

Miaofang Chi and Rigoberto “Gobet” Advincula, both researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, have been elected as Class of 2025 Fellows of the Materials Research Society, or MRS. Chi also holds a joint appointment at Duke University, and Advincula is jointly appointed at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The society, which has more than 13,000 members from 90 countries, selects Fellows for their distinguished accomplishments and outstanding contributions ...

Expectant and new fathers seek more support to improve maternal health

2025-03-24

PHILADELPHIA (March 24, 2025) – A new Penn Nursing study reveals that expectant and new fathers, particularly Black American fathers, express a significant need for more resources and support to better assist mothers during pregnancy and childbirth. The research, published in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, highlights a gap in tailored information and resources for fathers within healthcare and social service systems. Researchers conducted focus groups with eighty new fathers across the United States, with the majority (86%) being Black American, to understand ...

5,700-year storm archive shows rise in tropical storms and hurricanes in the Caribbean

2025-03-24

FRANKFURT. In the shallow waters of the Lighthouse Reef Atoll, located 80 kilometers off the coast of the small Central American country of Belize, the seabed suddenly drops steeply. Resembling a dark blue eye surrounded by coral reefs, the “Great Blue Hole” is a 125-meter-deep underwater cave with a diameter of 300 meters, which originated thousands of years ago from a karst cave located on a limestone island. During the last ice age, the cave’s roof collapsed. As ice sheets melted and global sea level started to rise, the cave ...

The secret behind pedestrian crossings – and why some spiral into chaos

2025-03-24

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2025 (3:00 PM U.S. Eastern time) Pedestrian crossings generally showcase the best in pedestrian behaviour, with people naturally forming orderly lanes as they cross the road, smoothly passing those coming from the opposite direction without any bumps or scrapes. Sometimes, however, the flow gets chaotic, with individuals weaving through the crowd on their own haphazard paths to the other side. Now, an international team of mathematicians, co-led by Professor Tim Rogers at the University of Bath in the UK and Dr Karol Bacik at MIT in ...

Organic molecules of unprecedented size discovered on Mars

2025-03-24

The longest organic molecules identified to date on Mars have recently been detected by scientists from the CNRS1, together with their colleagues from France, the United States of America, Mexico and Spain. These long carbon chains, containing up to 12 consecutive carbon atoms, could exhibit features similar to the fatty acids produced on Earth by biological activity2. The lack of geological activity and the cold, arid climate on Mars have helped preserve this invaluable organic matter in a clay-rich sample for the past 3.7 billion years. It therefore dates from the period during which life first emerged on Earth. These findings ...

Mathematicians uncover the logic behind how people walk in crowds

2025-03-24

Next time you cross a crowded plaza, crosswalk, or airport concourse, take note of the pedestrian flow. Are people walking in orderly lanes, single-file, to their respective destinations? Or is it a haphazard tangle of personal trajectories, as people dodge and weave through the crowd? MIT instructor Karol Bacik and his colleagues studied the flow of human crowds and developed a first-of-its-kind way to predict when pedestrian paths will transition from orderly to entangled. Their findings may help inform the design of public spaces that promote safe and efficient thoroughfares. In a paper appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy ...

Zoom bias: The social costs of having a ‘tinny’ sound during video conferences

2025-03-24

New Haven, Conn. — Most job candidates know to dress nicely for Zoom interviews and to arrange a professional-looking background for the camera. But a new Yale study suggests they also ought to test the quality of their microphones. A tinny voice caused by a cheap mic, researchers say, could sink their chances. Through a series of experiments, the study demonstrates that tinny speech — a thin, metallic sound — during video conferences can have surprisingly deep social consequences, leading listeners to lower their judgments of a speaker’s intelligence, credibility, and romantic desirability. ...

Biologists discover ancient neurohormone that controls appetite

2025-03-24

A team of biologists at Queen Mary University of London has discovered that a neurohormone controlling appetite in humans has an ancient evolutionary origin, dating back over half a billion years. The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, reveal that this satiety-inducing molecule, known as bombesin, is not only present in humans and other vertebrates but also in starfish and their marine relatives. Bombesin, a small peptide, plays a key role in regulating hunger by signalling when we’ve had enough to eat. But its story doesn’t start with humans or even mammals. New research shows that ...

Ambulatory antibiotic use in France showed significant decline during the COVID-19 pandemic

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: