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Detection of pneumococcus during hospitalization for SARS-CoV-2
Anne Stahlfeld1, Laura R Glick2, Isabel M Ott1
1Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, LEPH823, 60 College St, New Haven, CT 06510, United States.
FEMS Microbes
|June 19, 2023
Summary
Pneumococcus coinfection was detected in 11% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, with higher rates in severe cases. This suggests pneumococcal lower respiratory tract infection may worsen COVID-19 severity.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Pulmonology
- Microbiology
Background:
- Viral respiratory infections increase risk of severe pneumococcal infections.
- Pneumococcal coinfection is linked to worse outcomes in viral respiratory infections.
- Limited data exist on Streptococcus pneumoniae and SARS-CoV-2 coinfection and its impact on COVID-19 severity.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the frequency of pneumococcus detection in hospitalized COVID-19 patients during the early pandemic.
- Determine the association between pneumococcal coinfection and COVID-19 severity.
Main Methods:
- Study included 148 adult COVID-19 inpatients admitted to Yale-New Haven Hospital (March-August 2020).
- Pneumococcus detection via saliva RT-qPCR for carriage and urine antigen detection (UAD) assays for lower respiratory tract infection.
- Patients were tested for SARS-CoV-2 positivity and disease severity.
Main Results:
- Pneumococcal carriage detected in 3.1% of patients.
- Pneumococcus detected by UAD in 11.0% of patients, more common in severe COVID-19 (OR: 2.20).
- No UAD-positive patients died, but numbers were small.
Conclusions:
- Pneumococcal lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) occurs in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
- Pneumococcal LRTI is more frequent in patients with severe COVID-19 outcomes.
- Further research is needed on the interaction between pneumococcus and SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 severity.
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