Antibiotics in the Treatment of Uncomplicated Cystitis: A Google Trends Analysis

Abstract

Introduction: Using Google Trends (GT) data, the trend variations for the most common antibiotics used to treat uncomplicated cystitis were analyzed by time and region since 2004. Methods: GT was used to create a “line-graph” that shows how interest in a topic in certain locations has grown or decreased over time. The relative search volume, which is displayed on a scale of 0–100, was used to index the search values for specific phrases. Nitrofurantoin (NFN), fosfomycin (FOS), trimethoprim (TMP), pivmecillinam (PIV), and cefadroxil are among the antibiotics recommended by the European Association of Urology (EAU) and the American Urological Association for the treatment of uncomplicated cystitis. Using the “global” inquiry category, the data was searched “worldwide” from 1 February 2004 to 31 December 2021. Results: In the regression analysis, all antibiotics exhibited positive trends (p < 0.05). With a steady rise in popularity, NFN is the most popular antibiotic today. Search trend for cefadroxil stayed nearly stable until 2012, the rate of rise in the last 10 years increased, and cefadroxil is the second most popular antibiotic. In the previous 5 years, there was a decline in interest in TMP. In recent years, there was an increase in the trends for FOS and PIV. Conclusion: Clinicians and patients all around the world increasingly use the web to search for antibiotic therapies for uncomplicated cystitis. Antibiotics used to treat uncomplicated cystitis have various trends in different continents throughout the world. The web trends seem to be compatible with daily use.