Epidemiological Impact on Use of Antibiotics in Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19: A Retrospective Cohort Study in Italy

Abstract

The increased incidence of antimicrobial resistance during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a very important collateral damage of global concern. The cause is multifactorial and is particularly related to the high rates of antibiotic use in COVID-19 patients with a relatively low rate of secondary co-infection. To this end, we conducted a retrospective observational study of 1269 COVID-19 patients admitted during the years 2020, 2021 and 2022 in two Italian hospitals, with a focus on bacterial co-infections and antimicrobial therapy. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the association between bacterial co-infection, antibiotic use and hospital death after adjustment for age and comorbidity. Bacterial co-infection was detected in 185 patients. The overall mortality rate was 25% (n = 317). Concomitant bacterial infections were associated with increased hospital mortality (β = 1.002, p < 0.001). A total of 83.7% (n = 1062) of patients received antibiotic therapy, but only 14.6% of these patients had an obvious source of bacterial infection. There was a significantly higher rate of hospital mortality in patients who received antibiotics than in those who did not (χ2 = 6.22, p = 0.012). Appropriate prescribing and the rational use of antimicrobials according to the principles of antimicrobial stewardship can help prevent the emergence of antibiotic resistance.

E. coli Cell Lysis Induced by Lys394 Enzyme Assisted by Magnetic Nanoparticles Exposed to Non-Heating Low-Frequency Magnetic Field

“…The introduction of antibiotics into medical practice has saved many human lives from infectious diseases caused by pathogen microorganisms. However, bacteria develop Pharmaceutics 2023, 15, 1871. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15071871 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/pharmaceutics resistance to antibiotics fast, and so to control the pathogenic bacteria population, there is a need to develop new types of antibacterial agents that bacteria cannot develop resistance to soon [1,2]. Metal or metal oxide nanoparticles [3,4], carbon nanotubes [5], short polypeptides [6], and bacterial topoisomerase inhibitors [7] are considered as a base for such agents that are alternatives to antibiotics.…”