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 periodTotal AB prescribing (95% CI)aRTI consultations (95% CI)aProportion of RTI consultations with AB prescribed (95% CI)bUTI consultations (95% CI)aProportion of UTI consultations with AB prescribed (95% CI)b
Pre-pandemicRefRefRefRefRef
Feb 20200.89 (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 20201.13 (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 20200.82 (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 20200.73 (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 20200.87 (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 20200.88 (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 20200.86 (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 20200.91 (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.