IS IT POSSIBLE TO PREDICT VENTILATOR ASSOCIATED PNEUMONIA ETIOLOGY IN COVID-19 PATIENTS?

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 infection is no exception and may predispose to secondary bacterial and/or fungal co-infections like COVID-19 Associated Pulmonary Aspergillosis resulting in poor clinical outcomes especially among critically ill patients who require mechanical ventilation. Paolo Gaibani et al. conducted a prospective study (April to May, 2020) in a tertiary hospital in Bologna, Italy to assess the profile of the lower respiratory tract microbiome of critically ill patients with COVID-19 as compared to COVID-19 negative patients by using a 16S rRNA profiling on bronchoalveolar lavage samples. The dysbiosis observed in critically ill patients with COVID-19 was therefore characterized by the reduction of commensal bacterial species and predominance of opportunistic gram-negative pathogens frequently associated with multidrug resistance.