A new study finds that medications prescribed for children dropped by more than a quarter during the first eight months of the pandemic compared to the previous year, with the steepest declines in infection-related medicines like antibiotics and cough-and-cold drugs.

Overall, medications prescribed for children dropped by more than a quarter during the first eight months of the pandemic compared to the previous year, with the steepest declines in infection-related medicines like antibiotics and cough-and-cold drugs.

Antibiotic dispensing to children and teens plunged by nearly 56% between April and December 2020 compared with the same period in 2019. Researchers also found declines in prescriptions for chronic diseases, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and asthma, but no change in prescriptions for antidepressants, according to the findings in Pediatrics.

«The decline in the number of children receiving antibiotics is consistent with the large decreases in infection-related pediatric visits during 2020,» said lead author Kao-Ping Chua, M.D., Ph.D., a pediatrician and researcher at University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and the Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research Center.

«Because antibiotics have important side effects, the dramatic decreases in antibiotic dispensing may be a welcome development,» he added. «However, declines in dispensing of chronic disease drugs could be concerning.»

Dispensing of infection-related drugs declined sharply

Researchers analyzed national prescription drug dispensing data from 92% of U.S pharmacies to assess changes in dispensing to children ages 0-19 during COVID-19.

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Materials provided by Michigan Medicine — University of Michigan. Original written by Beata Mostafavi. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.