Evaluation of Microorganisms Isolated from Endotracheal Aspirate Cultures in Patients with and without COVID-19 in the Intensive Care Unit: Single-Centre Retrospective Analysis

Objective: Detection of common microorganisms from endotracheal aspirate cultures is helpful for the appropriate treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). We aimed to compare the growths detected in cultures of endotracheal aspiration material in patients with and without a diagnosis of COVID-19. Methods: Patients admitted to the intensive care unit between 1 November 2020 and 1 April 2022 who required intubation for more than 48 hours were retrospectively screened. Patients with a diagnosis of VAP were included in the study. Demographic characteristics, comorbidities, clinical findings and distribution of growing microorganisms were collected and compared for patients with and without the diagnosis of COVID-19. Results: There were 135/370 (36%) patients with microbiologically confirmed VAP in the COVID-19 group and 54/168 (32%) in the non-COVID-19 group (p = 0.55). Microbiologically confirmed VAP incidence was 30.6 events per 1000 days on a mechanical ventilator (32 events/1000 days in COVID-19 patients, and 26.5 events/1000 days in non-COVID-19 patients). The most common pathogens were Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Acinetobacter baumannii culture positivity was higher in COVID-19 patients than non-COVID-19 patients (p = 0.01). Conclusion: A. baumannii culture positivity was higher in COVID-19 patients than non-COVID-19 patients. Although the events of VAP per 1000 days on mechanical ventilation was higher in COVID-19 patients, no significant difference was observed in the number of patients who developed VAP among COVID-19 patients compared to non-COVID-19 patients.