Implicações da COVID-19 na resistência bacteriana em um hospital da fronteira oeste do Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought important challenges to global public health, with an emphasis on the increased use of antibacterials in hospital settings. Although these drugs are essential in combating bacterial infections, their inappropriate use can accelerate the development of bacterial resistance. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the bacterial resistance profile in a hospital on the western border of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. This is a descriptive, retrospective, cross-sectional study in which the resistance profile of bacterial isolates from patients admitted to a large hospital was evaluated, covering pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic periods. A total of 10,450 bacterial cultures were performed, of which 2,548 were positive. There was a significant increase in multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) in the pandemic (55.5%) and post-pandemic (59.1%) periods compared to the pre-pandemic (46.7%) period. Among the 72 patients admitted to the COVID-ICU, 49 isolates were identified as GNB, and 77.5% of them showed multidrug resistance. The odds ratio analysis indicated that the Acinetobacter genus had a 28-fold higher resistance chance to imipenem and 27-fold to meropenem during the pandemic. These findings highlight an increased level of bacterial resistance, especially in patients co-infected with bacteria and SARS-CoV-2.