incidence of viral infections detected by bronchoalveolar lavage in immunocompromised patients before and during sars-cov2-pandemia

Introduction Immunocompromised patients are more vulnerable to viral, bacterial and fungal infections and have poorer outcomes compared to non-immunocompromised patients. Therefore, rapid diagnosis is essential to guide adequate treatment. This led to the implementation of routine viral multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) as standard of care in our centre of October 2009. The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic seems to have deeply affected human interaction patterns. The aim of this study was to assess if the incidence of viral infections in BAL in immunocompromised patients has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.