Epidemiological profile of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 and diagnosed with ventilator-associated pneumonia

Abstract

Background and Objectives: due to complications associated with Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) infection, there was an increase in hospitalizations in intensive care and the use of mechanical ventilation and healthcare-associated infections during the pandemic period. Therefore, the objective was to understand the epidemiological profile of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) who developed ventilation-associated pneumonia (VAP). Methods: a retrospective cross-sectional study, with data collection from electronic medical records. It was conducted in a specific ICU for COVID-19, located in southern Brazil, between July 2020 and June 2021. Patients with COVID-19 who developed VAP were included. Patients who developed clinical VAP or who did not have all information available for access were excluded. Results: fifty-four patients participated in the study, predominantly male (55.6%), aged 60 years or over (38.9%) and overweight (53.7%). The most prevalent comorbidities were hypertension (63.8%) and diabetes mellitus (20.4%). Only cases of bacterial etiology were identified, with a predominance of the gram-negative Acinetobacter baumannii (57.4%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (24.1%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (20.4%) and microbial resistance. The predominant clinical outcome was death. Conclusion: a similar pattern to that found in the literature regarding the profile of patients admitted to intensive care for COVID-19 who developed VAP was evident. Factors such as immunosuppression, advanced age, and chronic diseases were predominant in the cases. Consistent with the literature, bacterial etiology appears to be more prevalent in VAP as well as the prevalence of gram-negative bacteria and antimicrobial resistance.