Prospective study of policies and use of therapies for COVID-19 among Australian health services during 2020

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has generated significant debate about how emerging infections can be treated in the absence of evidence-based therapies to combat disease. In particular, the use of off-label therapies outside of a clinical trial setting has been controversial. Aim To longitudinally study policies and prescribing practices pertaining to therapies for COVID-19 in Australian health services during 2020. Methods Prospective data were collected from participating Australian health services who may care for patients with COVID-19 via an electronic portal. A single informant from each health service was emailed a survey link at regular intervals. Information was sought regarding changes to COVID-19 policy at their service and use of therapies for COVID-19. Results Overall, 78 hospitals were represented from 39 respondents with longitudinal data collection from May to December 2020. All Australian states/territories were represented with the majority (34/39; 87%) of respondents located in a major city. Just over half (20/39) of respondents had a written policy for COVID-19 therapy use at their health service at survey enrolment and policies changed frequently throughout the pandemic. Therapy use outside of a clinical trial was reported in 54% of health services, most frequently in Victoria, correlating with higher numbers of COVID-19 cases. At study commencement, hydroxychloroquine was most frequently used, with corticosteroids and remdesivir use increasingly throughout the study period. Conclusion Our results reflect the reactive nature of prescribing of therapies for COVID-19 and highlight the importance of evidence-based guidelines to assist prescribers.