A Comparative Study on Bacterial Co-Infections and Prevalence of Multidrug Resistant Organisms among Patients in COVID and Non-COVID Intensive Care Units

INTRODUCTION: Secondary bacterial infections have been reported in majority of patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). A study of the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of these bacterial strains revealed that they were multidrug resistant, demonstrating their resistance to at least three classes of antimicrobial agents including beta-lactams, fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides. Bacterial co-infection remains as an important cause for high mortality in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. METHODS: In our study, we conducted a retrospective comparative analysis of bacterial co-infections and the antimicrobial resistance profile of bacterial isolates obtained from inpatients admitted in COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 intensive care units. The goal was to obtain the etiology and antimicrobial resistance of these infections for more accurate use of antimicrobials in clinical settings. This study involved a total of 648 samples collected from 356 COVID-19 positive patients and 292 COVID-19 negative patients admitted in the intensive care unit over a period of six months from May to October 2020. RESULTS: Among the co-infections found, maximum antimicrobial resistance was found in Acinetobacter species followed by Klebsiella species in both the ICU’s. Incidence of bacterial co-infection was found to be higher in COVID-19 intensive care patients and most of these isolates were multidrug resistant strains. CONCLUSION: Therefore, it is important that co-infections should not be underestimated and instead be made part of an integrated plan to limit the global burden of morbidity and mortality during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and beyond.