Bacterial Coinfections Increase Mortality of Severely Ill COVID-19 Patients in Saudi Arabia

Abdulaziz Alqahtani, Edrous Alamer, Mushtaq Mir, Ali Alasmari, Mohammed Merae Alshahrani, Mohammed Asiri, Irfan Ahmad, Abdulaziz Alhazmi and Abdullah Algaissi
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Abdulaziz Alqahtani: Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Abha 61321, Saudi Arabia
Edrous Alamer: Emerging and Epidemic Infectious Diseases Research Unit, Medical Research Center, Jazan University, Jazan 45142, Saudi Arabia
Mushtaq Mir: Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Abha 61321, Saudi Arabia
Ali Alasmari: Asir Central Hospital, Abha 61321, Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Merae Alshahrani: Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Najran University, 1988, Najran 61441, Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Asiri: Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Abha 61321, Saudi Arabia
Irfan Ahmad: Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Abha 61321, Saudi Arabia
Abdulaziz Alhazmi: Emerging and Epidemic Infectious Diseases Research Unit, Medical Research Center, Jazan University, Jazan 45142, Saudi Arabia
Abdullah Algaissi: Emerging and Epidemic Infectious Diseases Research Unit, Medical Research Center, Jazan University, Jazan 45142, Saudi Arabia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 4, 1-11

Abstract: Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is an ongoing global pandemic that is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The severity and mortality rates of COVID-19 are affected by several factors, such as respiratory diseases, diabetes, and hypertension. Bacterial coinfections are another factor that could contribute to the severity of COVID-19. Limited studies have investigated morbidity and mortality due to microbial coinfections in COVID-19 patients. Here, we retrospectively studied the effects of bacterial coinfections on intensive care unit (ICU)-admitted patients with COVID-19 in Asir province, Saudi Arabia. We analyzed electronic medical records of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 at Asir Central Hospital. A total of 34 patients were included, and the clinical data of 16 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 only and 18 patients coinfected with SARS-CoV-2 and bacterial infections were analyzed in our study. Our data showed that the length of stay at the hospital for patients infected with both SARS-CoV-2 and bacterial infection was 35.2 days, compared to 16.2 days for patients infected with only SARS-CoV-2 ( p = 0.0001). In addition, higher mortality rates were associated with patients in the coinfection group compared to the SARS-CoV-2-only infected group (50% vs. 18.7%, respectively). The study also showed that gram-negative bacteria are the most commonly isolated bacteria in COVID-19 patients. To conclude, this study found that individuals with COVID-19 who presented with bacterial infections are at higher risk for a longer stay at the hospital and potentially death. Further studies with a larger population are warranted to better understand the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 with bacterial infections.

Keywords: COVID-19; coinfection; bacteria; SARS-CoV-2; Saudi Arabia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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