Purpose: Critically ill patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) have an increased infection risk. The aim of this study was to determine the bacterial and fungal superinfections rate in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients stationed in the ICU, identify risk factors associated with their development and to determine whether superinfection plays a role in patients’ outcome in this population. Patients and Methods: In this retrospective, non-interventional, single centre, cohort study, medical records of 302 consecutive patients with SARS-COV-2 pneumonia admitted into the COVID-19 ICU of the largest university hospital from Western Romania between October 2020 and May 2021, were reviewed, of whom 236 patients met the inclusion criteria. Results: One hundred and nineteen patients developed a superinfection ≥ 48 h after being admitted to the hospital. Superinfection rate in the ICU was 50.42%. Coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CoNS) and Enterococcus spp. were predominantly isolated from blood cultures, while Acinetobacter baumannii, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida spp. from tracheobronchial aspirates. Significant independent risk factors regarding bacterial/fungal superinfection in COVID-19 patients were obtained for the following variables: number of days of central venous catheter (HR = 1.13 [1.07– 1.20], p < 0.001) and prior administration of corticosteroids (HR = 2.80 [1.33– 5.93], p = 0.007). Four independent predictive risk factors were associated with unfavorable outcome: age (HR = 1.07 [95% CI 1.03– 1.12], p = 0.001); Carmeli Score (HR = 6.09 [1.18– 31.50], p = 0.031); body mass index (HR = 1.11 [1.02– 1.21], p = 0.011) and the presence of a central venous catheter (HR = 6.49 [1.93– 21.89], p = 0.003). Conclusion: The superinfection rate in COVID-19 patients was high in this study group. Exogenous risk factors were associated with superinfection more than endogenous factors. Only a small percentage of uninfected COVID-19 patients were not prescribed antibiotics during their hospitalization, raising serious concerns regarding the judicious prescribing of antibiotics in viral infections.

Background and Objectives: Proteus and Providencia are related genera of opportunistic pathogens belonging to the Morganellaceae family, often a cause of infections in the immunocompromised hosts, such as diabetic patients. Their clinical significance has increased due to their intrinsic resistance to polymyxins, which is often associated with acquired resistance mechanisms. In this study we evaluated the infections caused by Proteus mirabilis and Providencia stuartii in two groups of patients, with diabetes (group 1) and without diabetes (group 2) admitted to the intensive care unit and surgical wards. The infections were investigated in terms of infection type, risk factors, clinical course, predictive factors for unfavourable outcomes and antibiotic resistance profile. Materials and Methods: An observational, retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted, comprising all patients infected with these pathogens. Bacterial identification and antibiotic sensitivity testing were performed using the Vitek2C automated system. Results: Comparison of the two groups showed that the statistically significant common infectious risk factors were found less frequently among diabetic patients when compared with non-diabetic patients, and that antimicrobial resistance was significantly lower in the diabetic patient group. However, survival rates did not differ between the two groups, drawing attention to the implications of diabetes as comorbidity. Additionally, with regard to the antibiotic resistance profile, 38.89% of P. stuartii strains isolated from diabetic patients belonged to the difficult-to-treat (DTR) phenotype, contributing to the severity of these infections compared with those caused by P. mirabilis, of which 32% were wild type strains and 0% were DTR phenotype. The DTR/extended spectrum beta-lactamase producing P. stuartii isolates more than doubled the risk of mortality, while the presence of nasogastric nutrition tripled the risk. Conclusions: P. stuartii infections that occurred in diabetic patients proved to be more difficult to treat, the majority of them being healthcare-associated bacteremias.

Background: Carbapenem-resistant Proteeae (CRP) is a group of multidrug-resistant (MDR) microorganisms that raise special treatment problems due to their intrinsic resistance to colistin. In this study, our aim is to provide a phenotypic and molecular characterization of the carbapenemases secreted by CRP strains isolated from inpatients from an intensive care unit (ICU) and surgical wards, as well as the identification of the risk factors involved in their acquisition. Methods: An observational, cross-sectional study was performed which included all Proteeae strains isolated in samples from inpatients on high-risk wards of the largest university hospital in Western Romania, from July 2017 to April 2019. Meropenemresistant strains (N=65) with MIC >= 16 mu g/mL were subjected to a singleplex PCR assay for the detection of blaNDM, blaVIM and blaCTX-M genes. The analysis of risk factors was performed by logistic regression. Results: Out of 8317 samples that were processed, 400 Proteeae strains were isolated: 64% belonging to the genus Proteus, 26.75% to the genus Providencia and 9.25% to the genus Morganella. Most CRP strains (N=56) were of MBL type, and 55 had the blaNDM gene as the prevalent gene substrate. P. stuartii was the main species that provided the circulating MDR strains. Most CRP strains came from patients admitted to ICU, being isolated mainly from bronchial aspirates and blood cultures. Multivariate analysis revealed 3 independent risk factors - mechanical ventilation>96h (HR: 40.51 [13.65-120.25], p <0.001), tracheostomy (HR: 2.65 [1.14-6.17], p = 0.024) and prolonged antibiotic therapy (HR: 1.01 [1.00-1.02], p = 0.03). Conclusion: There is a significant increase in the incidence of CR P. stuartii strains, the MBL-blaNDM type being predominant. These strains presented various other resistance mechanisms, being often extremely difficult to treat and led to an excess of lethality of 27.16%.

Background and Objectives: this study aimed to research links between C-reactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatinekinase (CK), 25-OH vitamin D (25-OHD), ferritin (FER), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL)cholesterol and clinical severity in patients from the western part of Romania, and compare their potential use as biomarkers for intensive care units (ICU) admission and death in children, adults and elders. Materials and Methods: this study is a retrospective cohort study, performed on patients positively diagnosed with COVID-19. Available CRP, LDH, CK 25-OH vitamin D, ferritin, HDL cholesterol and clinical severity were recorded. The following were assessed: median group differences, association, correlation and receiver operating characteristic. Results: 381 children, 614 adults and 381 elders were studied between 1 March 2021 and 1 March 2022. Most children and adults presented mild symptomatology (53.28%, 35.02%, respectively), while most elders presented severe symptomatology (30.04%). ICU admission was 3.67% for children, 13.19% for adults and 46.09% for elders, while mortality was 0.79% for children, 8.63% for adults and 25.1% for elders. With the exception of CK, all other biomarkers showed some significant associations with clinical severity, ICU admission and death. Conclusions: CRP, LDH, 25-OH vitamin D, ferritin and HDL are important biomarkers for COVID-19 positive patients, especially in the pediatric population, while CK was mostly within normal ranges.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Acinetobacter baumannii (AB) and XDR Proteeae association in the largest intensive care unit (ICU) in Western Romania. Materials and methods: This retrospective case-controlled study was conducted between January 2016 and December 2016 in the ICU of the “Pius Brînzeu” County Emergency Clinical Hospital of Timișoara. Data were collected, in strict confidentiality, from the electronic database of the Microbiology Laboratory and the hospital’s electronic medical records. Risk factors were investigated by logistic regression. Independent variables with P≤0.05 and OR >1 (95% CI >1) in the univariate analysis were entered into multivariate sequenced analysis. Findings: The incidence density of coinfection with XDR AB and XDR Proteeae was 5.31 cases per 1,000 patient-days. Independent risk factors for the association of XDR AB and XDR Proteeae were represented by the presence of tracheostomy and naso-/orogastric nutrition ≥ 8 days. In addition, pressure ulcers were independent predictive factors for infections with all three infection types. Previous antibiotic therapy was an independent risk factor for the acquisition of XDR-AB strains, alone or in association, while the prolonged hospitalization in the ICU, blood transfusion, and hemodialysis appear as independent risk factors for single infections. Conclusion: This association of XDR AB and XDR Proteeae may well not be limited to our hospital or our geographical area.

Infections represent a major complication for burn-injured patients. The aim of this study was to highlight the changes in the incidence and antimicrobial resistance of bacterial strains isolated from burn patients, at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, in relation to the antibiotics used during the pandemic. A comparative analysis of the demographic data and the microorganisms identified in the clinical samples of two groups of burn patients admitted to a university hospital in Romania was carried out. The first group consisted of 48 patients and the second of 69 patients, hospitalized in January–August 2020 and 2023, respectively. The bacterial species with the highest incidence were S. aureus, A. baumannii, Pseudomonas spp. The significant changes between 2023 and 2020 are reflected in the increase in the frequency of non-fermentative Gram-negative bacteria, especially S. maltophilia, and the increase in antimicrobial resistance of Pseudomonas and Klebsiella spp. Klebsiella spp. did not change in frequency (7%), but there was a significant increase in the incidence of K. pneumoniae strains with pan-drug resistant behaviour to antibiotics (40%), including colistin. The phenomenon can be explained by the selection of specimens carrying multiple resistance genes, as a result of antibiotic treatment during the COVID-19 period. The post-pandemic antimicrobial resistance detected in burn patients indicates the need for permanent surveillance of the resistance trends, primarily due to the limited therapeutic options available for these patients.