{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T19:15:47Z","timestamp":1790709347830,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,21]],"date-time":"2022-09-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1663718400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>One of the public health issues faced worldwide is antibiotic resistance (AR). During the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, AR has increased. Since some studies have stated AR has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and others have stated otherwise, this study aimed to explore this impact. Seven databases\u2014PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Cochrane, Web of Science, and CINAHL\u2014were searched using related keywords to identify studies relevant to AR during COVID-19 published from December 2019 to May 2022, according to PRISMA guidelines. Twenty-three studies were included in this review, and the evidence showed that AR has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The most commonly reported resistant Gram-negative bacteria was Acinetobacterbaumannii, followed by Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A. baumannii and K. pneumonia were highly resistant to tested antibiotics compared with E. coli and P. aeruginosa. Moreover, K. pneumonia showed high resistance to colistin. Commonly reported Gram-positive bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecium. The resistance of E. faecium to ampicillin, erythromycin, and Ciprofloxacin was high. Self-antibiotic medication, empirical antibiotic administration, and antibiotics prescribed by general practitioners were the risk factors of high levels of AR during COVID-19. Antibiotics\u2019 prescription should be strictly implemented, relying on the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) and guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) or Ministry of Health (MOH).<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph191911931","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,22]],"date-time":"2022-09-22T01:47:06Z","timestamp":1663811226000},"page":"11931","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":109,"title":["Antibiotic Resistance during COVID-19: A Systematic Review"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0307-2777","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hadi Jaber Al","family":"Sulayyim","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Interdisciplinary Health Unit, School of Health Science, Universiti Sains Malaysia (Health Campus), Kubang Kerian 11800, Kelantan, Malaysia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rohani","family":"Ismail","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Interdisciplinary Health Unit, School of Health Science, Universiti Sains Malaysia (Health Campus), Kubang Kerian 11800, Kelantan, Malaysia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abdullah Al","family":"Hamid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Saudi Ministry of Health, Najran 11134, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7662-5339","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Noraini Abdul","family":"Ghafar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedicine Program, School of Health Science, Universiti Sains Malaysia (Health Campus), Kubang Kerian 11800, Kelantan, Malaysia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2022, April 09). 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