Table 1. Comparison of rates of prescription of doxycycline and azithromycin in 2020 with 2019. In people aged ≥65 years there was a decrease in doxycycline use but an increase in azithromycin prescription. Lower respiratory tract infection and upper respiratory tract infection incidence fell across all age bands and both sexes. Influenza-like illness was much more similar between years.
| Age, years | 2019 | 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | Male | Female | Male | |||
| Antibiotic rates per 100000 patients (95% CI) | Doxy. | <16 | 21.74(20.4 to 23.2) | 17.75(16.5 to 19.0) | 19.12(17.8 to 20.5) | 15.96(14.8 to 17.2) |
| 16–64 | 385.28(382.1 to 388.5) | 231.99(229.6 to 234.4) | 380.15(377.8 to 383.3) | 222.57(220.2 to 224.9) | ||
| ≥65 | 1136.15(1126.4 to 1145.9) | 1038.78(1028.6 to 1048.9) | 968.28(959.3 to 977.3) | 913.57(904.1 to 923.1) | ||
| Azith. | <16 | 56.89(54.6 to 59.2) | 67.50(65.1 to 69.9) | 53.29(51.1 to 55.5) | 75.91(73.4 to 78.5) | |
| 16–64 | 70.02(68.7 to 71.4) | 39.39(38.4 to 40.4) | 70.69(69.4 to 72.1) | 40.77(39.8 to 41.8) | ||
| ≥65 | 305.17(300.1 to 310.3) | 288.43(283.1 to 293.9) | 339.13(333.8 to 344.5) | 307.59(302.1 to 313.2) | ||
| Respiratory disease rates per 100000 patients (95% CI) | LRTI | <16 | 229.25(224.67 to 233.82) | 292.18(287.1 to 297.2) | 68.43(65.9 to 70.9) | 90.9(88.1 to 93.8) |
| 16–64 | 191.30(189.1 to 193.54) | 126.84(125.0 to 128.6) | 81.45(79.9 to 82.9) | 53.2(52.0 to 54.4) | ||
| ≥65 | 609.27(602.05 to 616.5) | 568.32(560.8 to 575.8) | 267.9(263.2 to 272.8) | 268.0(262.9 to 273.2) | ||
| URTI | <16 | 1320.33(1309.5 to 1331.3) | 1349.86(1339.1 to 1360.7) | 485.15(455.0 to 467.7) | 493.1(486.6 to 499.7) | |
| 16–64 | 485.65(482.1 to 489.2) | 229.3(226.9 to 231.8) | 265.73(254.9 to 260.1) | 117.38(115.7 to 119.1) | ||
| ≥65 | 285.17(280.3 to 290.1) | 208.6(204.1 to 213.2) | 148.01(144.5 to 151.6) | 104.61(101.4 to 107.9) | ||
| ILI | <16 | 19.30(17.1 to 19.7) | 20.78(19.5 to 22.2) | 16.38(15.2 to 17.7) | 16.23(15.1 to 17.5) | |
| 16–64 | 32.57(30.8 to 32.6) | 22.15(21.4 to 22.9) | 37.68(36.7 to 38.7) | 21.86(21.1 to 22.6) | ||
| ≥65 | 25.40(28.2 to 31.7) | 22.18(20.7 to 23.7) | 29.41(27.9 to 31.0) | 24.38(22.9 to 25.9) |
a95% confidence intervals. Azith = azithromycin. Doxy = doxycycline. ILI = influenza-like illness. LRTI = lower respiratory tract infections. URTI = upper respiratory tract infections.