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Review
. 2022 May 14:9:20499361221095732.
doi: 10.1177/20499361221095732. eCollection 2022 Jan-Dec.

Improving management and antimicrobial stewardship for bacterial and fungal infections in hospitalized patients with COVID-19

Maddalena Peghin  1 , Antonio Vena  2 , Elena Graziano  3 , Daniele Roberto Giacobbe  2 , Carlo Tascini  3 , Matteo Bassetti  2
Affiliations
Review

Improving management and antimicrobial stewardship for bacterial and fungal infections in hospitalized patients with COVID-19

Maddalena Peghin et al. Ther Adv Infect Dis. .

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2) infection is being one of the most significant challenges of health care systems worldwide. Bacterial and fungal infections in hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are uncommon but consumption of antibiotics and antifungals has increased dramatically during the ongoing pandemic resulting in increased selective pressure for global antimicrobial resistance. Nosocomial bacterial superinfections appear to be more frequent than community-acquired coinfections, particularly among patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and those receiving immunosuppressive treatment. Fungal infections associated with COVID-19 might be missed or misdiagnosed. Existing and new antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programmes can be utilized directly in COVID-19 pandemic and are urgently needed to contain the high rates of misdiagnosis and antimicrobial prescription. The aim of this review is to describe the role of bacterial and fungal infections and possible strategies of AMS to use in daily practice for optimal management of COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; antimicrobial stewardship; bacterial infections; coinfections; fungal infections; secondary infections.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

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