Table 2.
Factors influencing decision making around prescribing antibiotics for treating COVID-19 patients, 2021 Bangladesh.
| Influential Decision-Making Factors | All Study Samples | Severity Level of COVID-19 Illness | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mild to Moderate | Severe | Critical | Mild to Critical | ||||
| col% (n) |
row% (n) |
row% (n) |
row% (n) |
row% (n) | p-Value | ||
| Patient’s underlying medical conditions | |||||||
| Patients with respiratory illnesses should be given antibiotics | Agree | 90.41 (462) | 75.76 (350) | 80.74 (373) | 88.10 (407) | 96.10 (444) | <0.001 |
| Unsure | 4.89 (25) | 32.00 (8) | 56.00 (14) | 72.00 (18) | 72.00 (18) | ||
| Disagree | 4.70 (24) | 45.83 (11) | 62.50 (15) | 75.00 (18) | 79.17 (19) | ||
| In the case of an elderly patient, antibiotics should be given | Agree | 75.73 (387) | 76.74 (297) | 80.86 (311) | 87.34 (338) | 95.87 (371) | 0.002 |
| Unsure | 11.35 (58) | 65.52 (38) | 77.59 (45) | 89.66 (52) | 93.10 (54) | ||
| Disagree | 12.92 (66) | 51.52 (34) | 69.70 (46) | 80.30 (53) | 84.85 (56) | ||
| Patients who are treated outside of a healthcare facility should be given antibiotics | Agree | 28.38 (145) | 83.45 (121) | 89.66 (130) | 93.10 (135) | 99.31 (144) | 0.007 |
| Unsure | 22.70 (116) | 70.69 (82) | 73.28 (85) | 86.21 (100) | 91.38 (106) | ||
| Disagree | 48.92 (250) | 66.40 (166) | 74.80 (187) | 83.20 (208) | 92.40 (231) | ||
| Signs/Symptoms | |||||||
| Patients with a high temperature should be given antibiotics | Agree | 61.45 (314) | 76.43 (240) | 83.44 (262) | 91.40 (287) | 98.73 (310) | <0.001 |
| Unsure | 16.24 (83) | 74.70 (62) | 71.08 (59) | 75.90 (63) | 86.75 (72) | ||
| Disagree | 22.31 (114) | 58.77 (67) | 71.05 (81) | 81.58 (93) | 86.84 (99) | ||
| Patients with loose motion should be given antibiotics | Agree | 51.66 (264) | 77.27 (204) | 80.68 (213) | 89.02 (235) | 98.11 (259) | <0.001 |
| Unsure | 16.63 (85) | 74.12 (63) | 74.47 (65) | 84.71 (72) | 84.41 (76) | ||
| Disagree | 31.70 (162) | 62.96 (102) | 76.54 (124) | 83.65 (136) | 90.12 (146) | ||
| If the patients have a secondary bacterial infection, they should be given antibiotics. | Agree | 96.09 (491) | 72.91 (358) | 79.23 (389) | 87.17 (428) | 94.70 (465) | 0.002 |
| Unsure | 2.94 (15) | 60.00 (9) | 73.33 (11) | 73.33 (11) | 73.33 (11) | ||
| Disagree | 0.98 (5) | 40.00 (2) | 40.00 (2) | 80.00 (4) | 100.0 (5) | ||
| Laboratory Tests | |||||||
| Before giving antibiotics, a patient’s blood hemoglobin level should be checked | Agree | 44.42 (227) | 80.62 (183) | 80.18 (182) | 87.22 (198) | 96.48 (219) | 0.045 |
| Unsure | 18.40 (94) | 73.40 (69) | 79.79 (75) | 84.04 (79) | 89.36 (84) | ||
| Disagree | 37.18 (190) | 61.53 (117) | 76.32 (145) | 87.37 (166) | 93.68 (178) | ||
| Antibiotics should be given after performing a creatinine test | Agree | 66.54 (340) | 77.06 (262) | 79.71 (271) | 88.53 (301) | 95.88 (326) | 0.018 |
| Unsure | 11.94 (61) | 72.13 (44) | 77.05 (47) | 83.61 (51) | 86.89 (53) | ||
| Disagree | 21.53 (110) | 57.27 (63) | 76.36 (84) | 82.73 (91) | 92.73 (102) | ||
| Antibiotics should be given after determining the bilirubin level | Agree | 36.79 (188) | 76.06 (143) | 78.72 (148) | 88.83 (167) | 97.34 (183) | 0.018 |
| Unsure | 27.01 (138) | 71.01 (98) | 77.54 (107) | 84.06 (116) | 89.86 (124) | ||
| Disagree | 36.20 (185) | 69.19 (128) | 79.46 (147) | 86.49 (160) | 94.05 (174) | ||
| Antibiotics should be given after performing an ALT test | Agree | 50.29 (257) | 75.10 (193) | 81.32 (209) | 91.05 (234) | 97.67 (251) | 0.001 |
| Unsure | 23.48 (120) | 70.00 (84) | 74.17 (89) | 81.67 (98) | 88.33 (106) | ||
| Disagree | 26.22 (134) | 68.66 (92) | 77.61 (104) | 82.84 (111) | 92.54 (124) | ||
| Antibiotics should be given after a CRP test has been performed | Agree | 90.80 (464) | 74.35 (345) | 79.74 (370) | 88.15 (409) | 95.69 (444) | <0.001 |
| Unsure | 5.68 (29) | 58.62 (17) | 68.97 (20) | 72.41 (21) | 75.86 (22) | ||
| Disagree | 3.52 (18) | 38.89 (7) | 66.67 (12) | 72.22 (13) | 83.33 (15) | ||