<i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> Infections in Patients with Severe COVID-19 in Intensive Care Units: A Retrospective Study

• Main Authors: Alexandre Baudet (Author), Marie Regad (Author), Sébastien Gibot (Author), Élodie Conrath (Author), Julie Lizon (Author), Béatrice Demoré (Author), Arnaud Florentin (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2024-04-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.3390/antibiotics13050390; 2079-6382
• Keywords: <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>; COVID-19; hospital-acquired infections; intensive care unit; antimicrobial resistance; Therapeutics. Pharmacology; RM1-950
• Source: Antibiotics, Vol 13, Iss 5, p 390 (2024)

Patients hospitalized in ICUs with severe COVID-19 are at risk for developing hospital-acquired infections, especially infections caused by <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>. We aimed to describe the evolution of <i>P. aeruginosa</i> infections in ICUs at CHRU-Nancy (France) in patients with severe COVID-19 during the three initial waves of COVID-19. The second aims were to analyze <i>P. aeruginosa</i> resistance and to describe the antibiotic treatments. We conducted a retrospective cohort study among adult patients who were hospitalized for acute respiratory distress syndrome due to COVID-19 and who developed a hospital-acquired infection caused by <i>P. aeruginosa</i> during their ICU stay. Among the 51 patients included, most were male (90%) with comorbidities (77%), and the first identification of <i>P. aeruginosa</i> infection occurred after a median ICU stay of 11 days. Several patients acquired infections with MDR (27%) and XDR (8%) <i>P. aeruginosa</i> strains. The agents that strains most commonly exhibited resistance to were penicillin + β-lactamase inhibitors (59%), cephalosporins (42%), monobactams (32%), and carbapenems (27%). Probabilistic antibiotic treatment was prescribed for 49 patients (96%) and was subsequently adapted for 51% of patients after antibiogram and for 33% of patients after noncompliant antibiotic plasma concentration. Hospital-acquired infection is a common and life-threatening complication in critically ill patients. Efforts to minimize the occurrence and improve the treatment of such infections, including infections caused by resistant strains, must be pursued.