Profile of Co-Infection Prevalence and Antibiotics Use among COVID-19 Patients

oleh: Rita Greco, Vittorio Panetta, Maria Teresa Della Rocca, Adriana Durante, Giovanni Di Caprio, Paolo Maggi

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2022-10-01

Deskripsi

Bacterial co-infection in COVID-19 patients significantly contributes to the worsening of the prognosis based on morbidity and mortality. Information on the co-infection profile in such patients could help to optimize treatment. The purpose of this study was to describe bacterial co-infections associated with microbiological, clinical, and laboratory data to reduce or avoid a secondary infection. A retrospective cohort study was conducted at Sant’Anna and San Sebastiano Hospital from January 2020 to December 2021. Bacterial co-infection was detected in 14.3% of the COVID-19-positive patients. The laboratory findings on admission showed significant alterations in the median D-dimer, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and lactate dehydrogenase values compared to normal values. All inflammatory markers were significantly elevated. The most common pathogens isolated from blood cultures were <i>E. faecalis</i> and <i>S. aureus</i>. Instead, the high prevalence of respiratory tract infections in the COVID-19 patients was caused by <i>P. aeruginosa</i> (41%). In our study, 220 (82.4%) of the COVID-19 patients received antimicrobial treatment. Aminoglycosides and β-lactams/β-lactamase inhibitors showed the highest resistance rates. Our results showed that older age, underlying conditions, and abnormal laboratory parameters can be risk factors for co-infection in COVID-19 patients. The antibiotic susceptibility profile of bacterial pathogen infection provides evidence on the importance, for the clinicians, to rationalize and individualize antibiotic usage.