Bacterial co-infection in hospitalized COVID-19 patients

COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019), which is answerable for the current pandemic, is a contagious illness produced by SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) which started with an outbreak of a febrile respiratory disease in China in December 2019. It is strongly believed that co-infections play an important role during COVID-19 outbreak. Furthermore, secondary bacterial pneumonia rates increase rapidly in intensive care unit patients. This study aimed to elucidate the rate of bacterial contagions among hospitalized COVID-19 patients with documentation of the most common organisms to guarantee the responsible use of antibiotics among these cases. The findings of our study suggest that continuous monitoring of bacterial coinfection and resistance patterns, as well as improving infection control measures, are important to control COVID-19 pandemic at both the local and global levels. Also reporting the most common involved microorganisms can help in refining empirical antibiotic management guidelines for patients with COVID 19 to ensure responsible use of antibiotics to minimize negative consequences of antibiotic overuse.