Award Date

May 2025

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

Department

Public Health

First Committee Member

Brian Labus

Second Committee Member

Chad Cross

Third Committee Member

Tim Bungum

Fourth Committee Member

Linh Nguyen

Number of Pages

35

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in antibiotic use, despite the viral nature of the disease. This widespread and often unnecessary use of antibiotics poses a serious threat on global health by accelerating the development of antibiotic resistance. Healthcare professionals utilize strategies, including Antibiotic Stewardship Programs (ASPs) and the use of antibiograms to mitigate the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. Antibiograms are tools used in healthcare settings to summarize and track bacterial susceptibility to various antibiotics. They provide clinicians critical information to guide selection of effective antibiotic treatment and monitor resistance trends overtime. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established ASPs to optimize antibiotic use, enhance patient outcomes, and curb the rise of drug-resistant infections. However, the COVID-19 pandemic placed strain on healthcare systems complicating the implementation and maintenance of effective ASPs. This study seeks to determine whether antibiotic resistance significantly increased during the pandemic by analyzing and comparing susceptibility rates from pre-pandemic and post-pandemic periods using publicly available antibiograms from 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2022 (post-pandemic). Specifically, we will examine changes in susceptibility rates from commonly used antibiotics and commonly prescribed antibiotics against frequently reported bacterial organisms.

Disciplines

Medical Sciences | Medicine and Health Sciences | Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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