Azithromycin Misuse During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study from Jordan

Figures & data

Table 1 Demography of the Pharmacists and Their Experience

Parameter/Question	Number	Percentage (%)	P value
Gender
Male	83	45.1	n.s.
Female	101	54.9
Age Group (years)
22–30	89	48.4	<0.001
31–40	33	17.9
Over 40	62	33.7
Are you a practicing pharmacist?
Yes	176	95.7	<0.001
No	8	4.3
How long have been working as a pharmacist?
0–5 years	90	48.9	<0.001
6–10 years	27	14.7
Over 10 years	67	36.4

Abbreviation: n.s., not significant.

Figure 1 The percentage of pharmacies in Jordan selling AZM per month; (A) with prescription before and during COVID-19, and (B) without or with prescription during COVID-19. During COVID-19, the number of prescribed AZM packs/per month sold was significantly higher than before the pandemic (see the text for more details). However, in (B), the numbers of AZM packs sold during COVID without or with prescription were not significantly different.

Table 2 AZM Stocking and Observation of Sales Before and During COVID-19 Pandemic

Question	Number	Percentage (%)
Before the pandemic, how many packs of AZM did you use to stock at your pharmacy?
5–10	101	54.9
11–20	39	21.2
21–40	26	14.1
More than 40	18	9.8
During the pandemic, how many packs of AZM are you stocking at your pharmacy?
5–10	16	8.7
11–20	26	14.1
21–40	61	33.2
More than 40	81	44
Have you realized an increase in AZM sales during the pandemic?
Yes	174	94.6
No	0	0
Not sure	10	5.4
During the pandemic, have you felt a need to order more AZM packs than before?
Yes	171	92.9%
No	7	3.8%
Not sure	6	3.3
Have you noticed an increase in AZM sales?
Yes	176	95.7
No	2	1.1
Not sure	6	3.3

Table 3 Do You Believe That Azithromycin Could Have a Positive Effect on COVID-19 Patients?

Variable		Response			P value*
		Yes	Not sure	No
Age group	22–30	41 (49.8%)	24 (28.9%)	18 (21.7%)	< 0.05
	30–40	25 (75.8%)	3 (9.1%)	5 (15.2%)
	Over 40	39 (65.0%)	6 (10.0%)	15 (25.0%)
Gender	Female	54 (55.7)	23 (23.7%)	20 (20.6)	n.s.
	Male	51 (64.6%)	10 (12.7%)	18 (22.8%)
Working as a pharmacist	0–5 years	40 (47.6%)	26 (31.0%)	18 (21.4%)	< 0.001
	6–10 years	22 (84.6%)	1 (3.8%)	3 (11.5%)
	More than 10 years	43 (65.2%)	6 (9.1%)	17 (25.8%)

Note: *Chi square analysis.

Abbreviation: n.s., not significant.

Table 4 Multinomial Logistic Regression Output of “Do You Believe That Azithromycin Could Have a Positive Effect on COVID-19 Patients?” in Relation to the Pharmacist Experience and Gender as a Covariate

Output	Variable	OR	95% CI	P value
Yes	Gender	0.910	0.425–1.948	0.808
	0–5 years’ experience	0.891	0.401–1.980	0.777
	6–10 years’ experience	2.951	0.774–11.257	0.113
	More than 10 years’ experience	Ref	Ref	–
Not sure	Gender	1.794	0.657–4.897	0.254
	0–5 years’ experience	3.764	1.230–11.522	0.020
	6–10 years’ experience	0.850	0.073–0.914	0.897
	More than 10 years’ experience	Ref	Ref	–

Note: No, is set as a reference category.

Table 5 Do You Believe That Increased Use of Azithromycin for the Treatment of Viral Infections Could Lead to Negative Consequences?

Variable		Response			P value*
		Yes	Not sure	No
Age group	22–30	56 (67.5%)	19 (22.9%)	8 (9.6%)	< 0.05
	30–40	16 (48.5%)	7 (21.2%)	10 (30.3%)
	Over 40	20 (33.3%)	20 (33.3%)	20 (33.3%)
Gender	Female	54 (55.7)	22 (22.7%)	21 (21.6)	n.s.
	Male	38 (48.1%)	24 (30.4%)	17 (21.7%)
Working as a pharmacist	0–5 years	55 (65.5%)	21 (25.0%)	8 (9.5%)	< 0.01
	6–10 years	11 (42.3%)	8 (30.8%)	7 (26.9%)
	More than 10 years	26 (39.4%)	17 (25.8%)	23 (34.8%)

Note: *Chi square analysis.

Abbreviation: n.s., not significant.

Table 6 Multinomial Logistic Regression Output of “Do You Believe That Increased Use of Azithromycin for the Treatment of Viral Infections Could Lead to Negative Consequences” in Relation to the Pharmacist Experience and Gender as a Covariate

Output	Variable	OR	95% CI	P value
No	Gender	1.113	0.493–2.515	0.796
	0–5 years’ experience	0.161	0.063–0.414	0.001
	6–10 years’ experience	0.705	0.232–2.144	0.538
	More than 10 years’ experience	Ref	Ref	–
Not sure	Gender	0.681	0.329–1.410	0.301
	0–5 years’ experience	0.627	0.281–1.403	0.256
	6–10 years’ experience	1.194	0.394–3.618	0.754
	More than 10 years’ experience	Ref	Ref	–

Note: Yes, is set as a reference category.