ABSTRACT
Background: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) surge, there was a sharp increase of blood cultures (BC) performed at Henry Ford Health System (HFHS). However, the epidemiology and outcomes of bloodstream infections (BSI) in COVID-19 patients (pts) remains undefined. We report the utilization of blood cultures, risk factors and mortality associated with BSI in a large cohort of COVID-19 pts. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed of all COVID-19 pts that had BC performed during hospitalization at HFHS, a 5-hospital system in southeast Michigan. BSI was defined using NHSN criteria. Demographics, comorbidities, severity of illness, and outcome of pts with and without BSI were compared. Results: From 3/10/2020 to 4/28/2020, 2541 pts were hospitalized with lab-confirmed COVID-19. 1393 (55%) of these pts had BC performed and 80 (5.74%) met criteria for BSI. Of the 84 pathogens identified, Staphylococcus aureus was most common (Figure 1). As compared to 1313 COVID-19 pts without BSI, those with BSI were older (70.1 vs 64.5 years, P = 0.0024). Other factors significantly associated with BSI included chronic kidney disease, higher mSOFA score, ICU stay and mechanical ventilation (all P < 0.0001) (Table 1). Multivariate analysis revealed age (OR, 1.07 CI [1.06-1.08]), ICU stay (OR, 7.91 [CI: 5.75-10.87]) and mSOFA score (OR, 1.29 [CI: 1.13-1.47]) were independent risk factors associated with mortality. BSI was not associated with increased mortality (Table 3). Conclusion: Although more than half of hospitalized COVID-19 pts had BC done, the number of BSI were low suggesting overutilization of BC. BSI was associated with older age and disease severity. Mortality was not affected by BSI but was primarily driven by age and severity of illness. (Table Presented).