Background
Coinfections in COVID19 appear to worsen hospitalized patients prognosis.
Objective
To describe the characteristics of bacterial and fungal coinfections in patients admitted for COVID19 and to identify the risk factors associated with its occurrence.
Patients and Methods
Single-center retrospective study reviewing medical records of patients with COVID19 diagnosed with bacterial or fungal infection during hospital admission.
Results
333 patients were analyzed during March 15-May 15, 2020. 16.82% had some coinfection during admission. Coinfections were more frequent in patients with comorbidities (80.36% vs 19.64% p<0.025) and in those ICU admitted (52.46% vs 8.86%, p<0.001). Coinfections were significantly more frequent in patients with neutrophilia>7500 and increased procalcitonin on admission as well as lymphopenia<1500 on day 5. Mortality in patients with coinfection was 26.79% vs 23.47% in non-coinfected (p 0.596). Length of stay was longer in coinfected patients (mean 30.59 vs 13.47, p<0.01). Most frequent microorganisms were Enterococci, Candida spp, Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas spp. 74% of patients received ceftriaxone: 17.34% of those treated had a coinfection compared to 15.48% not treated (p 0.694).
Conclusions
Occurrence of coinfections is frequent and prolongs hospital stay without influencing mortality. The presence of comorbidities and ICU stay were identified as the main risk factor for coinfection, while increased neutrophils and procalcitonin at admission and lymphopenia during evolution were the main biological predictors. Enterococcus was the most frequent pathogen. Ceftriaxone use does not protect against appearance of bacterial infections. C. albicans was the most frequently isolated fungus and was associated with prolonged ICU stay.