Profile of Bacterial Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance in Patients with Covid-19 in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Purpose: This study was done with the purpose of detecting the effect of misuse of antibiotics while treating COVID-19 infections. We aim at detecting and monitoring the resistance profile against antibiotics in patients positive for COVID-19. Materials and methods: This study was conducted for a period of 4 months from March,2021 to June,2021 which included patients confirmed as COVID-19 positive by RT-PCR for whom clinical samples were sent suspecting secondary bacterial infection.This is a retrospective study done by collecting data from samples including blood, urine, respiratory samples and others. A total of 56 samples were collected and the data was analysed. Results: A total of 56 samples from patients confirmed as COVID-19 positive by RT-PCR for whom clinical samples were sent suspecting secondary bacterial infection. The organisms were isolated only in samples of urine and blood. A total of 12 organisms were isolated out of the 56 samples collected, with a majority of gram negative organisms. The MBL production was observed in 22.2% and ESBL production was observed in 55.5% of the gram negative bacilli isolated. Out of all the organisms isolated, 9 were multidrug resistant (81.8%). Conclusion: The rampant use of empiric antibiotic therapy for the treatment of COVID -19 has led to the increase of the already challenging issue of antimicrobial resistance. An institution catered antimicrobial stewardship programme is crucial at this juncture, to ensure the sustainability of these precious lifesaving antibiotics.