Burden and Risk Factors for Coinfections in Patients with a Viral Respiratory Tract Infection

Abstract

Which patients should be monitored for coinfections or should receive empirical antibiotic treatment, in patients with an acute viral respiratory infection, is largely unknown. We evaluated the prevalence, characteristics, outcomes of coinfected patients, and risk factors associated with a coinfection among patients with an acute viral infection. A retrospective, single-center study recruited consecutive patients from October 2022 to March 2023 presenting to the emergency department with signs of a respiratory tract infection. Patients were screened for respiratory viruses and bacterial/fungal secondary infections according to local standard procedures. Outcomes included severe disease, in-hospital complications, all-cause in-hospital and ICU-related mortality, time to death, time to discharge, and time to coinfection. The analysis included 652 patients. A viral infection and a secondary bacterial/fungal infection were detected in 39.1% and 40% of cases. Compared with the rest of the cohort, coinfected patients had more frequently severe disease (88.3%, p < 0.001; 51% in patients with SARS-CoV-2) and higher in-hospital mortality (16.5%, p = 0.010). Nephropathy (OR 3.649, p = 0.007), absence of COVID-19 vaccination (OR 0.160, p < 0.001), SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR 2.390, p = 0.017), and lower blood pressure at admission (OR 0.980, p = 0.007) were independent risk factors for coinfection. Multidrug-resistant pathogens were detected in 30.8% of all coinfections. Patients with a viral infection are at high risk of bacterial coinfections, which carry a significant morbidity and mortality burden.