Most patients who are admitted to hospitals with acute viral infections are given antibiotics by their doctors or health care providers as a precaution against bacterial co-infection.
Yet new research suggests this practice may not improve their survival rates.
Researchers investigated the impact of antibiotic use on survival in more than 2,100 patients in a hospital in Norway between the years 2017 and 2021, Reuters reported.
The researchers found that giving antibiotics to people with common respiratory infections was unlikely to lower the risk of death within 30 days.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, antibiotics were prescribed for around 70% of COVID-19 patients in some countries, Reuters also said.