• Bibechan Thapa, Samyam Bickram Pathak, Nisha Jha, Milesh Jung Sijapati, and Pathiyil Ravi Shankar.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Kirtipur Hospital, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal.
• JNMA J Nepal Med Assoc. 2022 Jul 1; 60 (251): 625630625-630.

IntroductionAntimicrobial resistance is a global health problem. The widespread and improper antibiotics use is the leading cause of antimicrobial resistance. Bacterial co-infection in COVID-19 patients is the basis for the use of antibiotics in the management of COVID-19. COVID-19 pandemic has seriously impacted antibiotic stewardship and increased the global usage of antibiotics, worsening the antimicrobial resistance problem. The use of antibiotics among COVID-19 patients is high but there are limited studies in the context of Nepal. This study aimed to find out the prevalence of antibiotic use among hospitalised COVID-19 patients in a tertiary care centre.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on hospitalised COVID-19 patients from April 2021 to June 2021 in a tertiary care centre. Ethical approval was taken from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 2078/79/05). The hospital data were collected in the proforma by reviewing the patient's medical records during the study period of 2 months. Convenience sampling was used. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated.ResultsAmong 106 hospitalised COVID-19 patients, the prevalence of antibiotic use was 104 (98.11%) (95.52-100, 95% Confidence Interval). About 74 (71.15%) of patients received multiple antibiotics. The most common classes of antibiotics used were cephalosporins, seen in 85 (81.73%) and macrolides, seen in 57 (54.81%) patients.ConclusionsThe prevalence of antibiotic use among hospitalised COVID-19 patients was found to be higher when compared to other studies conducted in similar settings.Keywordsantibiotics; bacterial infection; co-infection; COVID-19.

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