Bacterial co-infection and antibiotic stewardship in patients with COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Understanding the proportion of patients with COVID-19 who have respiratory bacterial co-infections and the responsible pathogens is important for managing COVID-19 effectively while ensuring responsible antibiotic use.

Objective: To estimate the frequency of bacterial co-infection in COVID-19 hospitalized patients and of antibiotic prescribing during the early pandemic period and to appraise the use of antibiotic stewardship criteria.

Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis was performed using major databases up to May 5, 2021.