Antibiotic use and effectiveness in community acquired infection

SDE_YH_PROJ_193

Community acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a lung infection that begins outside of hospital. Antibiotics can be an effective treatment, but can also cause side effects, so it is important that they are used only when necessary. Some antibiotics are associated with more severe side effects than others. The medicines regulator in the UK has attempted to reduce the inappropriate prescribing of a certain group of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones, because of their side effects. In this research we will look at the impact of measures by the UK medicines regulator on antibiotic prescribing in practice. This will help us to understand if these measures are working. We also do not know what the most effective antibiotics are for patients with CAP. Clinical guidelines are available, but the evidence used to make these recommendations is incomplete. Antibiotic effectiveness depends on the bug causing the infection, but this is rarely known when antibiotics are first prescribed. Therefore, we will also compare the impact of different antibiotic combinations on patient outcomes. We will also use data about patients such as their investigation results, history of infections, and their age to estimate what bugs are most likely to be causing infection.

12/10/2025

In progress

No

Yes

Yorkshire and Humber Secure Data Environment