Clinical Outcomes, Inflammatory Profile, Bacterial Co-Infections and Post-Acute Symptom Burden in Hospitalised COVID-19 Patients During the Omicron BA.5 Wave: A Single-Centre Cohort Study from Western Romania

Evidence on hospitalised COVID-19 patients during the Omicron BA.5 wave from Eastern European, vaccine-heterogeneous cohorts remains limited. We conducted a retrospective single-centre cohort study of 395 consecutive adults admitted with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 to a tertiary infectious-diseases unit in western Romania between 1 July and 31 October 2022. Median age was 72 years (IQR 65–81); 33.2% were unvaccinated, 42.8% had documented prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, and 41.3% were obese. Multivariable logistic regression identified independent predictors of in-hospital mortality and post-acute symptom burden. In-hospital mortality was 15.7% (62/395). Vaccination was independently associated with lower mortality (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.55, 95% CI 0.30–0.99; p = 0.048), as was each 1% increase in admission SpO2 (aOR 0.83, 95% CI 0.76–0.92; p < 0.001), whereas COPD independently increased mortality risk (aOR 2.42, 95% CI 1.15–5.10; p = 0.020). Interleukin-6 was the most discriminating admission biomarker for in-hospital mortality (AUROC 0.70). Bloodstream bacterial co-infection, detected in 22.5% of patients tested on clinical suspicion, was dominated by gut-derived organisms with case-fatality ≥30%. At discharge, 90.1% reported persistent symptoms, most commonly cognitive (24.6%). Prior SARS-CoV-2 infection independently predicted post-acute symptom burden (aOR 2.96, 95% CI 1.75–5.01; p < 0.001), with a specific cardiopulmonary signature. In this BA.5 cohort, vaccination remained protective; IL-6 was the most informative admission biomarker; bloodstream infections suggested gut translocation; and prior infection was an independent determinant of early post-acute symptom burden.