The incidence of secondary infections in critically ill coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients is worrisome. We investigated whether selective digestive decontamination (SDD) added to infection control measures during an intensive care unit (ICU) stay modified these infection rates. Methods: A retrospective observational cohort study was carried out in four ICUs in Spain. All consecutive ventilated patients with a SARS-CoV-2 infection engaged in national infection control programs between 1 March and 10 December 2020 were investigated. Patients were grouped into two cohorts according to the site of ICU admission. Secondary relevant infections were included. Infection densities corresponding to ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), catheter bacteremia, secondary bacteremia, and multi-resistant germs were obtained as the number of events per 1000 days of exposure and were compared between SDD and non-SDD groups using Poisson regression. Factors that had an independent association with mortality were identified using multidimensional logistic analysis. Results: There were 108 patients in the SDD cohort and 157 in the non-SDD cohort. Patients in the SDD cohort showed significantly lower rates (p < 0.001) of VAP (1.9 vs. 9.3 events per 1000 ventilation days) and MDR infections (0.57 vs. 2.28 events per 1000 ICU days) and a non-significant reduction in secondary bacteremia (0.6 vs. 1.41 events per 1000 ICU days) compared with those in the non-SDD cohort. Infections caused by MDR pathogens occurred in 5 patients in the SDD cohort and 21 patients in the non-SDD cohort (p = 0.006). Differences in mortality according to SDD were not found. Conclusion: The implementation of SDD in infection control programs significantly reduced the incidence of VAP and MDR infections in critically ill SARS-CoV-2 infected patients.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; bacterial; decontamination; drug resistance; infection control; pneumonia; ventilator-associated.