Covid Patients More Prone To Hospital-Associated Infections: Study

The study reveals that the incidence of central line-associated bloodstream infection was nearly fourfold higher among the Covid-19 population than the non-Covid-19 population.

File photo

People admitted to hospital for the treatment of Covid-19 are likely to have a higher incidence of healthcare-associated infections, finds a study. The study, published online in JAMA Network Open, showed that the occurrence of central line-associated bloodstream infection, catheter-associated urinary tract infection, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia was between 2.7 and 3.7-fold higher in the Covid-19 population.

"Patients with Covid-19 may require additional protective care to prevent the infections," said Kenneth E. Sands, along with other authors from the HCA Healthcare in Tennessee, US. For the study, the team conducted a cross-sectional analysis of more than 5 million hospitalizations between 2020 and 2022.

The results showed that the incidence of central line-associated bloodstream infection was nearly fourfold higher among the Covid-19 population than the non-Covid-19 population (25.4 versus 6.9 per 100,000 patient-days).

Similar trends were seen for catheter-associated urinary tract infection (16.5 versus 6.1) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia (11.2 versus 3.7). However, the study found that the occurrence of these infections among patients hospitalized without Covid-19 did not increase significantly.

"Despite the strain on the healthcare system, the increase in healthcare-associated infections was not observed in the non-Covid-19 population, suggesting that key safety processes were maintained," the team said.

The Covid-19 cases have seen a sharp spike in India with the country registering a single-day rise of 10,158 new infections. The count of active cases in the country has now risen to 44,998. India recorded 7,830 coronavirus infections on Wednesday. The daily positivity rate was 4.42 percent, with a weekly positivity rate of 4.02 percent. Active cases now account for 0.10 percent of total illnesses.

According to the health ministry's website, the nationwide COVID-19 recovery rate is 98.71 percent. The case fatality rate was calculated to be 1.19 percent. The total number of patients who recovered from the disease has risen to 4,42,10,127. According to the ministry's website, the country has received 220.66 crore doses of Covid vaccine.