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Antibiotics
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Characteristics, Impact and Antimicrobial Treatment of Bacterial and Fungal Infections...
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Characteristics, Impact and Antimicrobial Treatment of Bacterial and Fungal Infections in the COVID-19 Era

A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 July 2023) | Viewed by 3349

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sergio Carbonara

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Infectious Disease Unit, Vittorio Emanuele II Hospital, 76011 Bisceglie, Italy
Interests: clinical microbiology; implant-associated infection; mycobacterial infection; HIV; tuberculosis; gram-positive bacterial infections
Dr. Davide Fiore Bavaro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePRe-J), Unit of Infectious Diseases, University of Bari "A. Moro", Polyclinic Hospital, Bari, Italy
Interests: clinical microbiology; difficult-to-treat infections; multidrug-resistant infections; implant-associated infection; viral infections; Mycobacterial infection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In contrast to the lower frequency of community-acquired bacterial co-infection, secondary bacterial infections among COVID-19 patients have been reported with a prevalence as high as 50%, with the highest rate observed in intensive care units. These infections are often caused by multidrug-resistant pathogens—including carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (42% in a recent meta-analysis)—and associated with a high mortality rate (30-55%). Invasive fungal secondary infections, such as Aspergillus spp. and Candida auris, have also been reported in COVID-19 wards, and these are associated to nosocomial outbreaks and high mortality.

This Special Issue aims to update and highlight the features and burden of bacterial and fungal infections among patients infected by SARS-CoV-2, their impact with respect to clinical outcome, organizational and financial resources, as well as the correct diagnostic and therapeutic approach, with a focus on multidrug-resistant and other difficult-to-treat infections, including: methicillin-resistant S. aureus, Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus spp., Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales, difficult-to-treat Pseudomonas aeruginosa, extensively-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, Clostridioides difficile, Aspergillus spp., and Candida auris.

Dr. Sergio Carbonara
Dr. Davide Fiore Bavaro
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antibiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • SARS-CoV-2
  • COVID-19
  • bacterial infections
  • invasive fungal infections
  • multi-drug resistance
  • Acinetobacter baumannii
  • methicillin-resistant S. aureus
  • Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus spp.
  • Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales
  • difficult to treat Pseudomonas aeruginosa
  • extensively-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii
  • Clostridioides difficile
  • Aspergillus spp.
  • Candida auris

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 461 KiB  
Article
Clinical and Microbiological Outcomes and Follow-Up of Secondary Bacterial and Fungal Infections among Critically Ill COVID-19 Adult Patients Treated with and without Immunomodulation: A Prospective Cohort Study
by Bálint Gergely Szabó, Eszter Czél, Imola Nagy, Dorina Korózs, Borisz Petrik, Bence Marosi, Zsófia Gáspár, Martin Rajmon, Márk Di Giovanni, István Vályi-Nagy, János Sinkó, Botond Lakatos and Ilona Bobek
Antibiotics 2023, 12(7), 1196; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics12071196 - 17 Jul 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1642
Abstract
Background: Nearly 10% of COVID-19 cases will require admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). Our aim was to assess the clinical and microbiological outcomes of secondary infections among critically ill COVID-19 adult patients treated with/without immunomodulation. Methods: A prospective observational cohort study [...] Read more.
Background: Nearly 10% of COVID-19 cases will require admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). Our aim was to assess the clinical and microbiological outcomes of secondary infections among critically ill COVID-19 adult patients treated with/without immunomodulation. Methods: A prospective observational cohort study was performed between 2020 and 2022 at a single ICU. The diagnosis and severity classification were established by the ECDC and WHO criteria, respectively. Eligible patients were included consecutively at admission, and followed for +30 days post-inclusion. Bloodstream-infections (BSIs), ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (VAP), and COVID-19-associated invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) were defined according to international guidelines. Patient stratification was performed by immunomodulatory therapy administration (dexamethasone, tocilizumab, baricitinib/ruxolitinib). The primary outcome was any microbiologically confirmed major infectious complication, secondary outcomes were invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) requirement and all-cause mortality. Results: Altogether, 379 adults were included. At baseline, 249/379 (65.7%) required IMV and 196/379 (51.7%) had a cytokine storm. At +30 days post-inclusion, the rate of any microbiologically confirmed major infectious complication was 151/379 (39.8%), IMV requirement and all-cause mortality were 303/379 (79.9%) and 203/379 (53.6%), respectively. There were no statistically significant outcome differences after stratification. BSI, VAP, and CAPA episodes were mostly caused by Enterococcus faecalis (27/124, 22.1%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (26/91, 28.6%), and Aspergillus fumigatus (20/20, 100%), respectively. Concerning the primary outcome, Kaplan–Meier analysis showed similar probability distributions between the treatment subgroups (118/299, 39.5% vs. 33/80, 41.3%, log-rank p = 0.22), and immunomodulation was not retained as its independent predictor in multivariate logistic regression. Conclusions: Secondary infections among critically ill COVID-19 adult patients represent a relevant burden, probably irrespective of immunomodulatory treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characteristics, Impact and Antimicrobial Treatment of Bacterial and Fungal Infections in the COVID-19 Era)
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15 pages, 1346 KiB  
Article
Symptoms, Treatment, and Outcomes of COVID-19 Patients Coinfected with Clostridioides difficile: Single-Center Study from NE Romania during the COVID-19 Pandemic
by Lidia Oana Stămăteanu, Ionela Larisa Miftode, Claudia Elena Pleșca, Olivia Simona Dorneanu, Manuel Florin Roșu, Ioana Diandra Miftode, Maria Obreja and Egidia Gabriela Miftode
Antibiotics 2023, 12(7), 1091; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics12071091 - 22 Jun 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1174
Abstract
The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought new challenges across medical disciplines, particularly in infectious disease medicine. In Romania, the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) infection increased dramatically since March 2020 until March 2022. Antibiotic administration for pulmonary [...] Read more.
The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought new challenges across medical disciplines, particularly in infectious disease medicine. In Romania, the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) infection increased dramatically since March 2020 until March 2022. Antibiotic administration for pulmonary superinfections in COVID-19 intensified and, consequently, increased rates of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) were hypothesized. We conducted a single-center, retrospective, observational study on patients from North-Eastern Romania to assess clinical characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 and Clostridioides difficile (CD) coinfection, and to identify risk factors for CDI in COVID-19 patients. The study enrolled eighty-six CDI and COVID-19 coinfected patients admitted during March 2020–February 2021 (mean age 59.14 years, 53.49% men, 67.44% urban residents) and a group of eighty-six COVID-19 patients. On admission, symptoms were more severe in mono-infected patients, while coinfected patients associated a more intense acute inflammatory syndrome. The main risk factors for severe COVID-19 were smoking, diabetes mellitus, and antibiotic administration. Third generation cephalosporins (55%) and carbapenems (24%) were the main antibiotics used, and carbapenems were significantly associated with severe COVID-19 in patients coinfected with CD during hospitalization. Coinfection resulted in longer hospitalization and poorer outcomes. The extensive use of antibiotics in COVID-19, particularly carbapenems, contributed substantially to CD coinfection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characteristics, Impact and Antimicrobial Treatment of Bacterial and Fungal Infections in the COVID-19 Era)
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