Causal organism details in patients with ICU-related infections are limited.
Research officers from the NHS Foundation Trust of the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals have developed a DNA test that quickly identifies secondary infections in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The results were published in the journal Critical care.
Patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 and having secondary infections have the double risk of developing pneumonia while in ventilation compared to those who do not have the virus. Mechanical ventilation is often the only way to keep people alive with a serious form of the disease, but it makes them more susceptible to other infections by bacteria and fungi.
Investigators developed the method using a high-throughput DNA test capable of giving doctors the information they need to start treatment within a few short hours, rather than days taking the current tests. need. The faster results offer the chance for better treatments for infections.
“Early in the pandemic, we noticed that COVID-19 patients were particularly at risk of developing secondary pneumonia, and we began using a rapid diagnostic test that we developed for such a situation,” said Andrew Conway Morris, a co-author. said on the study. “Using this test, we found that patients with COVID-19 were twice as likely to develop secondary pneumonia as other patients in the same intensive care unit.”
The test uses a multiple polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that detects bacterial DNA that can be completed within about 4 hours, creating a shorter window for the growth of the bacterium. The technology performs multiple PCR responses simultaneously, allowing the test to detect 52 different pathogens simultaneously, especially those that can infect the lungs.
For the first time, the test was used in clinical practice and was approved by hospitals. The researchers believe that similar approaches can offer an advantage if applied more widely.
“We found that although patients with COVID-19 were more likely to develop secondary pneumonia, the bacteria that caused these infections were similar to those in ICU patients without COVID-19,” said Mailis Maes, lead author of the study, said. “This means that standard antibiotic protocols can be applied to COVID-19 patients.”