Increased Rates of Secondary Bacterial Infections, Including Enterococcus Bacteremia, in Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19
Abstract Objective: We aimed to compare rates of hospital-onset secondary bacterial infections in patients with COVID-19 with rates in patients with influenza and controls, and to investigate reports of increased incidence of Enterococcus infections in patients with COVID-19. Design: Retrospective cohort study Setting: An academic quaternary care hospital in San Francisco, California Patients: Patients admitted between 10/1/2019 and 10/1/2020 with a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR (N=314) or influenza PCR (N=82) within 2 weeks of admission were compared with inpatients without positive SARS-CoV-2 or influenza tests during the study period (N=14,332). Methods: National Healthcare Safety Network definitions were used to identify infection-related ventilator-associated complications (IVAC), probable ventilator-associated pneumonia (PVAP), bloodstream infections (BSI), and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI). A multiple logistic regression model was used to control for likely confounders. Results: COVID-19 patients had significantly higher rates of IVAC and PVAP compared to controls, with adjusted odds ratios of 4.7 (1.7-13.9) and 10.4 (2.1-52.1), respectively. COVID-19 patients had higher incidence of BSI due to Enterococcus but not BSI generally, and whole genome sequencing of Enterococcus isolates demonstrated that nosocomial transmission did not explain the increased rate. Sub-analyses of patients admitted to the ICU and patients who required mechanical ventilation revealed similar findings. Conclusions: COVID-19 is associated with an increased risk of IVAC, PVAP and Enterococcus BSI compared with hospitalized controls, not fully explained by factors such as immunosuppressive treatments and duration of mechanical ventilation. The mechanism underlying increased rates of Enterococcus BSI in COVID-19 patients requires further investigation.