Introduction: Although bacterial co- and superinfections are rarely present in patients with COVID-19, overall antibiotic prescribing in admitted patients is high. In order to counter antibiotic overprescribing, antibiotic stewardship teams need reliable data concerning antibiotic prescribing in admitted patients with COVID-19.

Methods: In this prospective observational cohort study, we performed a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of antibiotic prescriptions in patients admitted to the COVID-19 ward of a 721-bed Belgian university hospital between 1 May and 2 November 2020. Data on demographics, clinical and microbiological parameters and antibiotic consumption were collected. Defined daily doses (DDD) were calculated for antibiotics prescribed in the context of a (presumed) bacterial respiratory tract infection and converted into two indicators: DDD/admission and DDD/100 hospital bed days. A team of infectious disease specialists performed an appropriateness evaluation for every prescription. A driver analysis was performed to identify factors increasing the odds of an antibiotic prescription in patients with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis.

Results: Of 403 eligible participants with a suspected COVID-19 infection, 281 were included. In 13.8% of the 203 admissions with a COVID-19 confirmed diagnosis, antibiotics were initiated for a (presumed) bacterial respiratory tract co-/superinfection (0.86 DDD/admission; 8.92 DDD/100 bed days; 39.4% were scored as 'appropriate'). Five drivers of antibiotic prescribing were identified: history of cerebrovascular disease, high neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio in male patients, age, elevated ferritin levels and the collection of respiratory samples for bacteriological analysis.

Conclusion: In the studied population, the antibiotic consumption for a (presumed) bacterial respiratory tract co-/superinfection was low. In particular, the small total number of DDDs in patients with confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis suggests thoughtful antibiotic use. However, antibiotic stewardship programmes remain crucial to counter unnecessary and inappropriate antibiotic use in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Trial Registration: The study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04544072).

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8444524PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40121-021-00535-2DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

bacterial respiratory
16
antibiotic
13
admitted patients
12
antibiotic prescribing
12
presumed bacterial
12
respiratory tract
12
patients
9
antibiotic prescriptions
8
patients covid-19
8
prospective observational
8

Similar Publications

Detection of Mycoplasma spp. from snakes from five different families.

BMC Vet Res

January 2025

LABOKLIN GmbH & Co.KG, Labor für klinische Diagnostik, Steubenstraße 4, Bad Kissingen, D-97688, Germany.

Background: Mycoplasmas are an important cause of respiratory diseases in tortoises. In snakes, evidence of mycoplasma infections has been found almost exclusively in pythons. To better understand the occurrence of these bacteria in other snake species, samples submitted for routine testing for respiratory pathogens were also tested for mycoplasma by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Impact of variations in airborne microbiota on pneumonia infection: An exploratory study.

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf

January 2025

National Human Diseases Animal Model Resource Center, National Center of Technology Innovation for animal model, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Health and Multimorbidity, NHC Key Laboratory of Comparative Medicine, Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Models of Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Beijing Engineering Research Center for Experimental Animal Models of Human Critical Diseases, Institute of Laboratory Animal Science, CAMS & PUMC, Beijing, China. Electronic address:

Background: Previous studies showed airborne bacteria affect pneumonia incidence, but specific impacts of bacterial communities on Klebsiella pneumoniae infection were unknown.

Methods: Five different ratios of bacterial community structures were randomly generated. Mice were divided into control, artificial bacterial community exposure, and corresponding Klebsiella pneumoniae challenge groups.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

sp. nov. and sp. nov., two bacteria isolated from marine sediment in the East China Sea.

Int J Syst Evol Microbiol

January 2025

Li Dak Sum Yip Yio Chin Kenneth Li Marine Biopharmaceutical Research Center, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315800, PR China.

Two Gram-stain-negative, curved-rod-shaped, non-motile and aerobic bacteria W6 and I13 were isolated from marine sediment samples collected from Meishan Island located in the East China Sea. Catalase and oxidase activities and hydrolysis of Tween 40, 60 and 80 were positive for both strains, while nitrate reduction, indole production, methyl red reaction and HS production were negative. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA and genome sequences revealed that strains W6 and I13 formed distinct phylogenetic lineages within the genera and , respectively.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background/purpose: One of the causes of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is aspiration of oropharyngeal fluid containing pathogenic microorganisms into the lower respiratory tract. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether antibiotic ointment applied to the oral cavity can reduce the number of bacteria in the fluid on the cuff of a tracheal cannula.

Materials And Methods: Tetracycline ointment was applied intraorally once to a patient under endotracheal intubation by postoperative tracheostomy for oral cancer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) increases the risk of mortality of critically ill patients. Diagnostic criteria specifically targeting patients in intensive care units(ICUs) have been developed to improve diagnostic sensitivity. This study investigated health outcomes among patients in ICUs with Aspergillus isolates identified using bronchoscopy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!