Clinical Edge Journal Scan

Hospital-acquired infections in COVID-19 patients drive antibiotic use


 

Key clinical point: Antibiotic resistance increased with longer hospital stays; vancomycin resistance increased among enterococci, and ceftriaxone and carbapenem resistance among Enterobacterales.

Major finding: A total of 183 community-associated coinfections were identified in COVID-19 patients who met criteria for infection (6%); hospital-acquired infections occurred in 350 patients (12%). Of the hospital-acquired infections, 57% were caused by gram-negative bacteria and 19% were caused by fungi.

Study details: The data come from 3,028 adults with COVID-19 diagnosed between March 2, 2020, and May 31, 2020, who were hospitalized for at least 24 hours; 516 patients of 899 with positive cultures met criteria for infection.

Disclosures: The study was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose.

Source: Kubin CJ et al. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2021 May 5. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofab201.

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