A Retrospective, Monocentric Study Comparing Co and Secondary Infections in Critically Ill COVID-19 and Influenza Patients

• Main Authors: Diane Marcoux (Author), Isabelle Etienne (Author), Alain Van Muylem (Author), Elisa Gouvea Bogossian (Author), Nicolas Yin (Author), Fabio Silvio Taccone (Author), Maya Hites (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2022-05-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.3390/antibiotics11060704; 2079-6382
• Keywords: COVID-19; Influenza; co-infection; secondary infections; aspergillosis; Therapeutics. Pharmacology; RM1-950
• Source: Antibiotics, Vol 11, Iss 6, p 704 (2022)

Few data are available on infectious complications in critically ill patients with different viral infections. We performed a retrospective monocentric study including all of the patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with confirmed COVID-19 (as of 13 March 2020) or Influenza A and/or B infections (as of 1 January 2015) until 20 April 2020. Coinfection and secondary infections (occurring within and after 48 h from admission, respectively) were recorded. Fifty-seven COVID-19 and 55 Influenza patients were included. Co-infections were documented in 13/57 (23%) COVID-19 patients vs. 40/55 (73%) Influenza patients (<i>p</i> < 0.001), most of them being respiratory (9/13, 69% vs. 35/40, 88%; <i>p</i> = 0.13) and of bacterial origin (12/13, 92% vs. 29/40, 73%; <i>p</i> = 0.25). Invasive aspergillosis infections were observed only in Influenza patients (8/55, 15%). The COVID-19 and Influenza patients presented 1 (0-4) vs. 0 (0-4) secondary infections (<i>p</i> = 0.022), with comparable sites being affected (lungs: 35/61, 57% vs. 13/31, 42%; <i>p</i> = 0.16) and causative pathogens occurring (Gram-negative bacteria: 51/61, 84% vs. 23/31, 74%; <i>p</i> > 0.99). The COVID-19 patients had longer ICU lengths of stay (15 (-65) vs. 5 (1-89) days; <i>p</i> = 0.001), yet the two groups had comparable mortality rates (20/57, 35% vs. 23/55, 41%; <i>p</i> = 0.46). We report fewer co-infections but more secondary infections in the ICU COVID-19 patients compared to the Influenza patients. Most of the infectious complications were respiratory and of bacterial origin.