Nursing and Midwifery Journal

en Comparison of the Consumption of Expensive Antibiotics Based on Stewardship Guidelines Before, During, and After the Coronavirus Pandemic in Urmia in the Years 2019-2024 متفرقه Miscellaneous پژوهشي Research Background Using antibiotics thoughtfully not only protects patients from the risks of unnecessary treatment but also helps preserve the effectiveness of these medications by slowing the spread of antimicrobial resistance. Stewardship is an organized strategy to monitor the rational use of antibiotics, reduce drug resistance, and improve clinical outcomes. It is designed based on evidence-based guidelines and can help manage antibiotic use by providing guidance on rational antibiotic prescribing, educating physicians, limiting use, managing antibiotic prescribing software, and rotating antibiotics. This study aimed to compare the consumption of costly antibiotics based on stewardship guidelines before, during, and after the coronavirus pandemic. Methods This descriptive comparative study was conducted at Shahid Motahari Educational and Medical Center in Urmia. Data on the consumption of expensive and inexpensive antibiotics were extracted from the hospital's HIS system, in accordance with the Ministry of Health's Stewardship Guidelines and the DOT criteria, during the period 2019-2024. Then, the percentage of consumption of costly antibiotics was calculated and compared according to the Ministry of Health Stewardship Guidelines. Finally, the data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 using  repeated-measures ANOVA, and Bonferroni post-hoc test. Results The results of  comparing the three time periods showed that the use of antibiotics  significantly increased during the COVID-19 period with  significant changes compared to the pre-pandemic period (p < 0.001, mean = 4879.56). However, antibiotic use in the post-COVID-19  period significantly decreased compared during the COVID-19  (p < 0.001, mean = - 3604.46), although it remained higher than the pre-pandemic level (p < 0.081, mean = - 1275.10). Conclusion The findings of this study emphasize the need to optimize antibiotic use and implement an antibiotic stewardship program to reduce side effects, costs, and drug resistance   Antibiotics, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Covid-19, Pandemic 84 90 http://unmf.umsu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-3380-3&slc_lang=en&sid=1 neda pashaei n.pashaei97@gmail.com 100319475328460041560 100319475328460041560 No Clinical Research Development Unit, Shahid Motahari Educational and Medical Center,Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran shiva Heidari communityhn@gmail.com 100319475328460041561 100319475328460041561 No Department of Midwifery Nursing, Urmia Branch, Islamic Azad University, Urmia, Iran naser parizad nparizad@gmail.com 100319475328460041562 100319475328460041562 No Nursing Department, Patient Safety Research Center, Clinical Research Institute, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran mohammad nouri nourimohammad1998@gmail.com 100319475328460041563 100319475328460041563 No Department of Midwifery Nursing, Urmia Branch, Islamic Azad University, Urmia, Iran mahnaz mohamadpouri mahnazm4@gmail.com 100319475328460041564 100319475328460041564 No Clinical Research Development Unit, Shahid Motahari Educational and Medical Center,Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran sima ghanipour badelbuu ghanipourfrnzvsf@gmail.com 100319475328460041565 100319475328460041565 Yes Department of Midwifery Nursing, Urmia Branch, Islamic Azad University, Urmia, Iran Violeta Lopez vlopez@une.edu.au 100319475328460041566 100319475328460041566 No School of Health – Nursing, University of New England, Australia Tuba Şengül tsengul@ku.edu.tr 100319475328460041567 100319475328460041567 No School of Nursing, Koç University, Turkey