Pneumonia Diagnosis: Bacterial Superinfection in COVID-19 Patients

Pneumonia is a deadly condition with clinical outcomes highly dependent on prompt and appropriate therapy. Diagnosis of pneumonia is challenging, co-infections pose further complexity in the best of circumstances, and diagnosing bacterial superinfections during COVID-19 has been difficult, particularly in critically ill hospitalized patients. Bacterial documentation is essential to assess co-infection in COVID-19 critically ill. Clinical presentation, inflammatory markers, and bilateral radiological infiltrates can be misleading and not optimally suitable for the diagnosis of a bacterial superinfection. Consequently, empirical antibiotic therapy is initiated until microbiological assessment of pathogens is confirmed. Molecular diagnostic (MDx) platforms are addressing the challenges of pneumonia diagnosis, paving the way for shorter hospital stays through rapid and sensitive pathogen identification. The use of MDx tools and the initiation of narrow-spectrum antibiotics are key elements of antimicrobial stewardship guidelines, especially in severe COVID-19 patients. There are now several platforms available for identifying the significant causes of bacterial pneumonia and relevant antibiotic resistances. In this presentation we will be presenting the results of the Unyvero Panel for Lower Respiratory Tract (LRT) infections and Hospitalized Pneumonia (HPN) compared to standard of care practices (microbiological culture) for detection of bacterial pathogens from lower respiratory tract specimens obtained from critically ill hospitalized patients including those with COVID-19. Included are also several cases of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP), as MDx techniques provide a notable alternative to the insensitive morphological methods of PJP diagnosis. We will consider retrospective chart review of patient demographic data, treatment course, and clinical outcomes that demonstrate the potential clinical impact of implementing the Unyvero Lower Respiratory Tract Panel.

 

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