Prevalence of Bloodstream Infections and their Etiology in COVID-19 Patients Admitted in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Jaipur

Background: World is in grip of COVID-19 pandemic right now. Majority of studies center around its epidemiological and clinical characteristics. Information regarding secondary bacterial infections is limited. This retrospective observational study was done to determine the prevalence and characteristics of bloodstream infections in COVID-19 patients admitted in a tertiary care center in Jaipur. Patients and methods: All blood cultures received from COVID-19 positive patients admitted in designated COVID care ICUs and wards were included in the study. A predesigned pretested questionnaire was used to collect relevant data. Blood cultures were done using BD BACTEC (TM) FX40, and identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of isolates were done by VITEK (R) 2 COMPACT. Results: One thousand five hundred seventy-eight (1578) COVID-19 positive patients were admitted in center during 5-month study period from whom 158 blood cultures were received. Out of these, 15 (9.4%) were positive. Median age of patients with positive blood culture was 54 years and included 10 males and 5 females.Ten (67%) patients needed intensive care in ICU. Significant correlation of blood culture positivity was found with parameters like ICU admission, presence of an indwelling device, underlying comorbidity, raised biochemical markers, and adverse clinical outcome. Conclusions: Incidence of bloodstream infections is low for COVID-19 patients. Antibiotic prophylaxis needs to be used with caution, and prompt discontinuation should be done based on clinical judgment.