Bacterial infections in critically ill patients with SARS-2-COVID-19 infection: results of a prospective observational multicenter study

De Santis, Vincenzo; Corona, Alberto; Vitale, Domenico; Nencini, Cecilia; Potalivo, Antonella; Prete, Anna; Zani, Gianluca; Malfatto, Anna; Tritapepe, Luigi; Taddei, Stefania; Locatelli, Alessandro; Sambri, Vittorio; Fusari, Maurizio; Singer, Mervyn

PURPOSE: To investigate the prevalence, incidence and characteristics of bacterial infections and their impact on outcome in critically ill patients infected with COVID-19. METHODS: We conducted a prospective observational study in eight Italian ICUs from February to May 2020; data were collected through an interactive electronic database. Kaplan–Meier analysis (limit product method) was used to identify the occurrence of infections and risk of acquisition. RESULTS: During the study period 248 patients were recruited in the eight participating ICUs. Ninety (36.3%) patients developed at least one episode of secondary infection. An ICU length of stay between 7 and 14 days was characterized by a higher occurrence of infectious complications, with ventilator-associated pneumonia being the most frequent. At least one course of antibiotic therapy was given to 161 (64.9%) patients. Overall ICU and hospital mortality were 33.9% and 42.9%, respectively. Patients developing bacteremia had a higher risk of ICU mortality [45.9% vs. 31.6%, odds ratio 1.8 (95% CI 0.9–3.7), p = 0.069] and hospital mortality [56.8% vs. 40.3%, odds ratio 1.9 (95% CI 1.1–3.9), p = 0.04]. CONCLUSION: In critically ill patients infected with COVID-19 the incidence of bacterial infections is high and associated with worse outcomes. Regular microbiological surveillance and strict infection control measures are mandated. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s15010-021-01661-2.