Antibiotics on the rise: Google trends as a monitoring tool in India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20214810Keywords:
Google trends, Antibiotics, Antibiotic resistance, Azithromycin, COVID-19, HydroxychloroquineAbstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has put enormous strains on health care and public sector resources globally, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The extensive and often inept use of antibiotics during the pandemic is suspected. Data from Google trends (GT) enables the assessment of Google users' interest in a specific topic. A strong correlation between active COVID-19 cases and GT search terms of antibiotics (r=0.90) azithromycin (r=0.96) and doxycycline (r=0.93) were noticed with p<0.05. However, hydroxychloroquine (r=0.21) was not significant. Further investigation is needed to determine GT as a possible adjunctive monitoring tool for antibiotic use and formulate drug resistance patterns in India.
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