Secondary Bacterial Agents and Antibiotic Resistance Profiles in Respiratory Tract Specimens of Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia

ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of the study is to determine which bacteria are the causative agents and the antibiotic resistance rates in the respiratory tract secretions of patients who have diagnosed with COVID-19 and to compare these results with before the pandemic. Method: This study is a retrospective study comparing bacteria grown in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and endotracheal aspirate(ETA) fluids coming from adult clinical services and intensive care units and their antibiotic resistance profiles between January 2019 and December 2019 before the pandemic, with the results between January 2020 and December 2020 during the pandemic period. Results: A total of 900 culture results were examined in 2019; Acinetobacter baumannii was detected in 36%, Klebsiella pneumoniae in 23%, Pseudomonas aeruginosa in 14%, and Staphylococcus aureus in 8%. In 2020, during the pandemic, 660 culture results were examined, and same bacteria was detected in 43%, 23%,16% and 5%, respectively. K.pneumoniae's 3rd generation cephalosporin resistance, A. baumannii's resistance to tigecycline, gentamycin, tobramycin and P. aeruginosa's resistance to ceftazidime were found to have increased significantly during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period. Conclusion: In hospitalized patients with COVID-19, secondary bacterial agents are mostly multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. For this reason,in patients with COVID-19 disease, appropriate empirical treatment should be selected by knowing the local bacterial agents and antibiotic resistance profiles.