Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Incidence and Epidemiology of Catheter-Related Bacteremia, Spain

We compared hospital-acquired catheter-related bacteremia (CRB) episodes diagnosed at acute care hospitals in Catalonia, Spain, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 with those detected during 2007–2019. We compared the annual observed and predicted CRB rates by using the negative binomial regression model and calculated stratified annual root mean squared errors. A total of 10,030 episodes were diagnosed during 2007–2020. During 2020, the observed CRB incidence rate was 0.29/10(3) patient-days, whereas the predicted CRB rate was 0.14/10(3) patient-days. The root mean squared error was 0.153. Thus, a substantial increase in hospital-acquired CRB cases was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 compared with the rate predicted from 2007–2019. The incidence rate was expected to increase by 1.07 (95% CI 1–1.15) for every 1,000 COVID-19–related hospital admissions. We recommend maintaining all CRB prevention efforts regardless of the coexistence of other challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.