Low incidence of severe bacterial infections in hospitalised patients with COVID-19: A population-based registry study.
Infect Dis (Lond)
; 55(2): 132-141, 2023 02.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36305894
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Bacterial infections complicating COVID-19 are rare but present a challenging clinical entity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence, aetiology and outcome of severe laboratory-verified bacterial infections in hospitalised patients with COVID-19.METHODS:
All laboratory-confirmed patients with COVID-19 admitted to specialised healthcare hospitals in the Capital Province of Finland during the first wave of COVID-19 between 27 February and 21 June 2020 were retrospectively studied. We gathered the blood and respiratory tract culture reports of these patients and analysed their association with 90-day case-fatality using multivariable regression analysis.RESULTS:
A severe bacterial infection was diagnosed in 40/585 (6.8%) patients with COVID-19. The range of bacteria was diverse, and the most common bacterial findings in respiratory samples were gram-negative, and in blood cultures gram-positive bacteria. Patients with severe bacterial infection had longer hospital stay (mean 31; SD 20 days) compared to patients without (mean 9; SD 9 days; p < 0.001). Case-fatality was higher with bacterial infection (15% vs 11%), but the difference was not statistically significant (OR 1.38 CI95% 0.56-3.41).CONCLUSIONS:
Severe bacterial infection complicating COVID-19 was a rare occurrence in our cohort. Our results are in line with the current understanding that antibiotic treatment for hospitalised COVID-19 patients should only be reserved for situations where a bacterial infection is strongly suspected. The ever-evolving landscape of the pandemic and recent advances in immunomodulatory treatment of COVID-19 patients underline the need for continuous vigilance concerning the possibility and frequency of nosocomial bacterial infections.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Bacterial Infections
/
Cross Infection
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Incidence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Infect Dis (Lond)
Year:
2023
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Finland