Hospital-acquired antibiotic-resistant organisms among patients with COVID-19

ABSTRACT

Background: We sought to use existing in-patient surveillance data to investigate the risk of hospital-acquired antimicrobial-resistant organisms (ARO) among patients with COVID-19 infection. Methods: Prospective case capture was done for patients admitted with COVID-19, as well as those admitted with ARO and Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI). Odds ratios (OR) were used to measure the strength of association between COVID-19 infection and the risk of acquiring hospital-acquired ARO and CDI. Results: The odds of acquiring ARO/CDI were statistically higher among patients with hospital-acquired and community-acquired COVID-19 infections (OR=2.68 and 1.79 respectively) compared to persons without COVID-19 (OR=0.53). Conclusions: Our results show an association between COVID-19 infection and the acquisition of ARO/CDI in the in-patient setting. This finding suggests that prolonged hospitalization may expose patients to hospital-acquired infections, and this may have relevance in the management of patients requiring hospitalization for extended periods of time.