Table 2.
Interrupted time-series analysis showing adjusted relative rates for each month during the pandemic period compared with pre-pandemic period as reference
| Month during the pandemic period | Total AB prescribing (95% CI)a | RTI consultations (95% CI)a | Proportion of RTI consultations with AB prescribed (95% CI)b | UTI consultations (95% CI)a | Proportion of UTI consultations with AB prescribed (95% CI)b |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-pandemic | Ref | Ref | Ref | Ref | Ref |
| Feb 2020 | 0.89 (0.87 to 0.91) | 0.84 (0.82 to 0.87) | 0.99 (0.95 to 1.03) | 0.87 (0.83 to 0.92) | 1.01 (0.96 to 1.07) |
| March 2020 | 1.13 (1.11 to 1.16) | 0.81 (0.78 to 0.84) | 0.93 (0.89 to 0.98) | 0.77 (0.72 to 0.81) | 1.05 (0.99 to 1.11) |
| April 2020 | 0.82 (0.80 to 0.84) | 0.23 (0.22 to 0.25) | 1.01 (0.93 to 1.09) | 0.61 (0.58 to 0.65) | 1.09 (1.02 to 1.16) |
| May 2020 | 0.73 (0.71 to 0.75) | 0.16 (0.15 to 0.18) | 0.86 (0.78 to 0.95) | 0.59 (0.55 to 0.63) | 1.05 (0.98 to 1.12) |
| June 2020 | 0.87 (0.85 to 0.89) | 0.26 (0.24 to 0.28) | 0.88 (0.80 to 0.97) | 0.66 (0.62 to 0.70) | 1.04 (0.98 to 1.11) |
| July 2020 | 0.88 (0.86 to 0.91) | 0.28 (0.26 to 0.30) | 0.82 (0.74 to 0.91) | 0.68 (0.64 to 0.73) | 1.01 (0.95 to 1.08) |
| Aug 2020 | 0.86 (0.84 to 0.89) | 0.32 (0.29 to 0.34) | 0.90 (0.82 to 0.98) | 0.63 (0.59 to 0.67) | 1.04 (0.97 to 1.11) |
| Sep 2020 | 0.91 (0.88 to 0.95) | 0.30 (0.27 to 0.33) | 0.98 (0.87 to 1.11) | 0.72 (0.65 to 0.78) | 1.05 (0.96 to 1.16) |
a
Adjusted for age group, sex, seasonal, and secular trends, with general practice as a random-effects variable and log of person-time as offset.
b
Adjusted for age group, sex, seasonal, and secular trends, with general practice as a random-effects variable and log of consultation count as offset. AB = antibiotic. CI = confidence interval. RTI = respiratory tract infection. UTI = urinary tract infection.