COVID-19 Associated with Significant Increase in Hospital-Acquired Bloodstream Infections

ABSTRACT

In a single health system consisting of 69 hospitals, Sturm et al used an infection prevention surveillance system to identify all blood cultures positive for five organisms commonly seen in healthcare-associated infections In an Italian eight-hospital system, Grasselli et al reported bloodstream infections accounting for 25% of all hospital-acquired infections in the critically ill COVID-19 population, with findings of 11.7 bloodstream infections per 1,000 ICU patient-days and 4.7 catheter-related bloodstream infections per 1,000 ICU patient-days.1 The variables associated with infection included age, positive end-expiratory pressure, and treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics on admission.1 When considering several clinical and systems-based factors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, results from this study are not surprising. Health care-associated infections A meta-analysis of costs and financial impact on the US health care system.