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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Tom Hellyer, Margaret Ogden
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.Objective To explore and model factors affecting antibiotic prescribing decision-making early in the pandemic. Design Semistructured qualitative interview study. Setting National Health Service (NHS) trusts/health boards in England and Wales. Participants Clinicians from NHS trusts/health boards in England and Wales. Method Individual semistructured interviews were conducted with clinicians in six NHS trusts/health boards in England and Wales as part of the Procalcitonin Evaluation of Antibiotic use in COVID-19 Hospitalised patients study, a wider study that included statistical analysis of procalcitonin (PCT) use in hospitals during the first wave of the pandemic. Thematic analysis was used to identify key factors influencing antibiotic prescribing decisions for patients with COVID-19 pneumonia during the first wave of the pandemic (March to May 2020), including how much influence PCT test results had on these decisions. Results During the first wave of the pandemic, recommendations to prescribe antibiotics for patients with COVID-19 pneumonia were based on concerns about secondary bacterial infections. However, as clinicians gained more experience with COVID-19, they reported increasing confidence in their ability to distinguish between symptoms and signs caused by SARS-CoV-2 viral infection alone, and secondary bacterial infections. Antibiotic prescribing decisions were influenced by factors such as clinician experience, confidence, senior support, situational factors and organisational influences. A decision-making model was developed. Conclusion This study provides insight into the decision-making process around antibiotic prescribing for patients with COVID-19 pneumonia during the first wave of the pandemic. The importance of clinician experience and of senior review of decisions as factors in optimising antibiotic stewardship is highlighted. In addition, situational and organisational factors were identified that could be optimised. The model presented in the study can be used as a tool to aid understanding of the complexity of the decision-making process around antibiotic prescribing and planning antimicrobial stewardship support in the context of a pandemic. Trial registration number ISRCTN66682918.
Author(s): Henley J, Brookes-Howell L, Euden J, Pallmann P, Llewelyn M, Howard P, Powell N, Dark P, Szakmany T, Hellyer TP, Albur M, Hamilton R, Prestwich G, Ogden M, Maboshe W, Sandoe J, Thomas-Jones E, Carrol E
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: BMJ Open
Year: 2023
Volume: 13
Issue: 12
Print publication date: 01/12/2023
Online publication date: 19/12/2023
Acceptance date: 27/11/2023
Date deposited: 15/01/2024
ISSN (electronic): 2044-6055
Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
URL: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-077117
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-077117
Data Access Statement: Data sharing not applicable as no data sets generated and/or analysed for this study. All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information. Data are not available for sharing to protect participants’ confidentiality. The identity of individuals may be revealed by sharing transcripts.
PubMed id: 38114276
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