Prescription Patterns of Drugs Given to Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study in Colombia

Abstract

The impact of COVID-19 prompted a race to find a treatment that would reduce its mortality. Most studies have not shown favorable results for many of these drugs, but they are still used. The aim as to determine the differences and similarities in the hospital pharmacological management of patients with COVID-19 according to sex, age group, and geographical region of Colombia, 2020–2021. Descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on the prescription patterns of the medications given to patients diagnosed with COVID-19 treated in eight clinics in Colombia between 6 March 2020 and 31 May 2021. We performed a descriptive analysis of the sociodemographic, clinical, and pharmacological variables of the patients. A total of 8596 patients from 170 cities were identified, with a median age of 53.0 years and 53.3% of them men. A total of 24.3% required care in the intensive care unit, and 18.7% required invasive mechanical ventilation. The most commonly used drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 were systemic corticosteroids (63.6%), followed by colchicine (12.8%), azithromycin (8.9%), and ivermectin (6.4%). Corticosteroids, anticoagulants, colchicine, azithromycin, ivermectin, and hydroxychloroquine were prescribed more frequently in men, and their overall use increased with age. There were differences in prescriptions between geographic regions. The majority of patients were managed with medications included in the management guidelines. There were differences between sexes, age groups, and geographical regions.

Adherence of Physicians to Local Guideline Recommendations among Patients with COVID-19 in Two Tertiary Public Hospitals in Metro Manila, Philippines: A Rapid Assessment Study

“…Overall, guideline-adherent care was high for both centers. Adherence to dexamethasone use in this study was similar to prescription patterns reported in other COVID-19 centers globally (70 to 95%), [9][10][11][12] with the high utilization rate being influenced significantly by the result of the RECOVERY trial. 9 Underuse of tocilizumab appears to be related to supply issues during the study period.…”

“…13 Despite the aforementioned shortage, the adherence to tocilizumab seen in this study is higher than the prescription patterns reported in other COVID-19 centers across the world (0.5 to 40%). 9,[14][15][16] Overuse of empiric antibiotics is associated with disease severity (i.e., more severe cases are given antibiotics without sufficient indication) and location of treatment (i.e., ICU patients are given antibiotics without sufficient indication). A similar trend was observed in the use of azithromycin where highest adherence rates were seen in mild cases and the lowest adherence seen in critical cases.…”

Evaluation of Rationale Prescription Pattern among RTPCR Positive COVID 19 Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Chengalpet district, Tamil Nadu – A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The most commonly used drug in this study was Corticosteroids (48%) followed by Remdesivir & Tocilizumab. Luis Fernando et al descriptive study showed commonly used drug was corticosteroids (66.3%) 6 . The probable reason for use of corticosteroids was to reduce inflammatory events & to prevent cytokines storm.…”

Changes in inpatient medicine prescribing during COVID‐19 lockdown

“… 13 Widespread off‐label use of unproven drugs for COVID‐19 was rampant in many other countries across the world. 14 , 15 This may in part be because COVID‐19 arrived later in NZ as well as differences in characteristics of the health systems.…”

“…The NZ experience contrasts with countries such as the United States, where new prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine were more than seven times higher in March 2020 compared with the previous year, across both primary and secondary care settings 13 . Widespread off‐label use of unproven drugs for COVID‐19 was rampant in many other countries across the world 14,15 . This may in part be because COVID‐19 arrived later in NZ as well as differences in characteristics of the health systems.…”