Super-infection by multiple microorganisms in COVID-19 patients

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Microbiology
• Critical Care Medicine

Background:

• COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) pandemic has led to increased secondary bacterial infections.
• Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) pose a significant threat in hospitalized patients, especially those with severe infections like COVID-19.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19 co-infected with multiple multidrug-resistant bacteria.
• To identify common co-infecting microorganisms and their antibiotic resistance patterns.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and at least two co-infecting microorganisms between January and May 2021.
• Extraction of clinical and epidemiological data from medical records.
• Determination of microorganism susceptibility using automated methods and antibiotic resistance profiling.

Main Results:

• Twenty-seven patients met the criteria, with up to eight co-infecting microorganisms identified per patient.
• Common co-infecting bacteria included Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Acinetobacter baumannii showed high resistance (88.9%) to tested agents, except colistin.
• Seven patients (25.9%) died, with a longer time from COVID-19 diagnosis to hospital admission in non-survivors.

Conclusions:

• Multiple co-infections with MDROs are present in COVID-19 patients.
• High levels of antibiotic resistance, particularly in Acinetobacter baumannii, are a major concern.
• Reinforcement of infection control measures is crucial to combat the spread of untreatable microorganisms.