Evaluation of bacterial coinfections and susceptible antibiotic profiles in hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Koya district, Iraq.

Introduction: Bacterial coinfection among intensive care unit (ICU) COVID-19 patients is not widely studied in Iraq. Hence, the current study was performed to determine the prevalence of secondary bacterial infection and susceptible profile in ICU patients with COVID-19 infections.

Methodology: The study was conducted from November 2021 to April 2022, in Mad Center/ Shahid Doctor Khalid Hospital/Koya district. The midstream urine (MSU), sputum, and throat swab (TS) were obtained. Age, gender, clinical characteristics, bacterial identities, and antibiotic sensitivity profiles were collected for 200 COVID-19 patients. The standard biochemical tests confirmed the bacterial isolates. Antibiotic susceptibility was implemented by using the disk diffusion method.

Results: Out of 200 ICU patients, 87 (43.5%) of them had bacterial coinfection. The most predominant bacteria were isolated Acinetobacter baumannii (25.3%), Escherichia coli (18.3%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (16%), Klebsiella pneumonia (11.5%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus (4.6%), and Enterococcus spp. (3.5%). Gram-negative bacteria showed a high level of sensitivity to Ertapenem (90.7%) and Piperacillin/Tazobactam (84.9%). Gram-positive isolates showed high sensitivity to Teicoplanin (77.2%) and Rifampicin (71%).

Conclusions: The susceptibility rate of the isolated bacteria is moderate; this indicates that early diagnosis of coinfections and more accurate use of antibiotics are necessary to mitigate the severity of COVID-19.