Study: Secondary bacterial infection fatal for ventilated COVID-19 patients.

Study Finds Secondary Bacterial Pneumonia a Major Cause of Death in COVID-19 Patients on Ventilators

Researchers from Northwestern University in Illinois have found that secondary bacterial pneumonia is a major cause of death in COVID-19 patients who are on a ventilator.

The study analyzed data from 585 mechanically-ventilated patients with severe pneumonia and respiratory failure, 190 of whom had COVID-19. The patients were in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

The researchers used a machine learning approach called CarpeDiem to analyze the medical record data of the patients. They found that nearly half of the ventilated COVID-19 patients in the study developed a secondary pneumonia caused by bacteria, after the patient had already developed an upper respiratory infection that was caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The condition, called ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in the study, was not associated with mortality overall. However, VAP that was not successfully treated was associated with greater mortality, with 76.4% mortality in the former group compared to 17.6% in the latter group.

The study’s senior author, Dr. Benjamin Singer, emphasized the importance of preventing, looking for, and aggressively treating secondary bacterial pneumonia in critically ill patients with severe pneumonia, including those with COVID-19. He added that those who were cured of their secondary pneumonia were likely to live, while those whose pneumonia did not resolve were more likely to die.

• Secondary bacterial pneumonia is a major cause of death in COVID-19 patients on ventilators.
• Nearly half of the ventilated COVID-19 patients in the study developed a secondary pneumonia caused by bacteria.
• Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) was not associated with mortality overall, but VAP that was not successfully treated was associated with greater mortality.
• Preventing, looking for, and aggressively treating secondary bacterial pneumonia is crucial in critically ill patients with severe pneumonia, including those with COVID-19.

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