Abstract
Background : To investigate the distribution of bacterial
pathogens of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in hospitalized
elderly patients during the COVID-19 epidemic and to explore the
influence of COVID-19 on the distribution of bacterial pathogens, in
order to provide guidance for clinical diagnosis.
Methods : Specimens of sputum from elderly LRTIs patients at
Fuding Hospital of China were collected from October 2022 to January
2023. Cultures and identification were done, and RT-PCR was employed to
detect SARS-Cov-2 nucleic acid.
Results : A total of 195 isolates were characterized in 163
sputum samples of consecutive hospitalized elderly patients, of which
11.3% were Gram-positive bacteria and 88.7% Gram-negative. The top of
frequently isolated pathogens were Klebsiella pneumonia (30.3%),Pseudomonas aeruginosa (19.0%), Acinetobacter baumannii(12.8%), Stenotrophomonas maltophili , (7.7%), Escherichia
coli (7.2%). According to the results of novel coronavirus nucleic
acid detection, the 163 patients were divided into COVID-19 group and
non-COVID control (CNT) group. The comparison of bacterial distribution
between the groups revealed that Stenotrophomonas maltophilia was
lower in the COVID-19 than in the CNT group, while Acinetobacter
baumannii was higher in the COVID-19 group, and the difference was
statistically significant (P < 0.05 ).
Conclusion : The major
bacteria identified in sputum culture of hospitalized elderly patients
were Klebsiella pneumonia , Pseudomonas aeruginosa ,Acinetobacter baumannii , Stenotrophomonas maltophilia , andEscherichia coli . Furthermore, the distribution ofStenotrophomonas maltophilia and Acinetobacter baumanniibetween the COVID-19 and CNT groups was found to be significantly
different (P < 0.05), while there were no significant
differences in the distribution of other bacteria.