Incidence of bloodstream infections due to multidrug-resistant pathogens in ordinary wards and intensive care units before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a real-life, retrospective observational study

Francesco Vladimiro Segala, Pia Clara Pafundi, Carlotta Masciocchi, Barbara Fiori, Eleonora Taddei, Laura Antenucci, Giulia De Angelis, Silvia Guerriero, Roberta Pastorino, Andrea Damiani, Brunella Posteraro, Maurizio Sanguinetti, Gennaro De Pascale, Massimo Fantoni, Rita Murri

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

Abstract

PurposeSARS-COV-2 pandemic led to antibiotic overprescription and unprecedented stress on healthcare systems worldwide. Knowing the comparative incident risk of bloodstream infection due to multidrug-resistant pathogens in COVID ordinary wards and intensive care-units may give insights into the impact of COVID-19 on antimicrobial resistance.MethodsSingle-center observational data extracted from a computerized dataset were used to identify all patients who underwent blood cultures from January 1, 2018 to May 15, 2021. Pathogen-specific incidence rates were compared according to the time of admission, patient's COVID status and ward type.ResultsAmong 14,884 patients for whom at least one blood culture was obtained, a total of 2534 were diagnosed with HA-BSI. Compared to both pre-pandemic and COVID-negative wards, HA-BSI due to S. aureus and Acinetobacter spp. (respectively 0.3 [95% CI 0.21-0.32] and 0.11 [0.08-0.16] new infections per 100 patient-days) showed significantly higher incidence rates, peaking in the COVID-ICU setting. Conversely, E. coli incident risk was 48% lower in COVID-positive vs COVID-negative settings (IRR 0.53 [0.34-0.77]). Among COVID + patients, 48% (n = 38/79) of S. aureus isolates were resistant to methicillin and 40% (n = 10/25) of K. pneumoniae isolates were resistant to carbapenems.ConclusionsThe data presented here indicate that the spectrum of pathogens causing BSI in ordinary wards and intensive care units varied during the pandemic, with the greatest shift experienced by COVID-ICUs. Antimicrobial resistance of selected high-priority bacteria was high in COVID positive settings.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-9
Number of pages9
JournalInfection
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Keywords

  • Antimicrobial resistance
  • Bloodstream infection
  • COVID
  • Intensive care unit

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Incidence of bloodstream infections due to multidrug-resistant pathogens in ordinary wards and intensive care units before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a real-life, retrospective observational study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this