Temporal and regional trends of antibiotic use in long-term aged care facilities across 39 countries, 1985-2019: systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Antibiotic misuse is a key contributor to antimicrobial resistance and a concern in long-term aged care facilities (LTCFs). Our objectives were to:  i) summarise key indicators of systemic antibiotic use and appropriateness of use, and ii) examine temporal and regional variations in antibiotic use, in LTCFs (PROSPERO registration CRD42018107125).

Methods & Findings

Medline and EMBASE were searched for studies published between 1990-2021 reporting antibiotic use rates in LTCFs. Random effects meta-analysis provided pooled estimates of antibiotic use rates (percentage of residents on an antibiotic on a single day [point prevalence] and over 12 months [period prevalence]; percentage of appropriate prescriptions). Meta-regression examined associations between antibiotic use, year of measurement and region. 

A total of 90 articles representing 78 studies from 39 countries with data between 1985-2019 were included. Pooled estimates of point prevalence and 12-month period prevalence were 5.2% (95% CI: 3.3-7.9; n=523,171) and 62.0% (95% CI: 54.0-69.3; n=946,127), respectively. Point prevalence varied significantly between regions (Q=224.1, df=7, p