Multidrug-resistant organism bloodstream infection and hospital acquisition among inpatients in three tertiary Greek hospitals during the COVID-19 era

Polyxeni Karakosta; Sophia Vourli; Elisavet Kousouli; Georgios Meletis; Areti Tychala; Christina Louka; Alexandra Vasilakopoulou; Efthymia Protonotariou; Vasiliki Mamali; Olympia Zarkotou; Lemonia Skoura; Spyros Pournaras

doi:10.1007/s10096-024-04806-x

Multidrug-resistant organism bloodstream infection and hospital acquisition among inpatients in three tertiary Greek hospitals during the COVID-19 era

Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2024 Mar 26. doi: 10.1007/s10096-024-04806-x. Online ahead of print.

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology, Medical School, Attikon University Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
² Department of Clinical Microbiology, Tzaneio General Hospital of Piraeus, Athens, Greece.
³ Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, AHEPA University Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
⁴ Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology, Medical School, Attikon University Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece. spournaras@med.uoa.gr.

PMID: 38530465
DOI: 10.1007/s10096-024-04806-x

Abstract

From 2019 (pre-COVID-19) to 2022 (COVID-19 years), three tertiary Greek hospitals monitored MDRO bloodstream infection (BSI) and hospital acquisition relying on laboratory data. Surveillance covered carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE), Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), in intensive care units (ICUs) and non-ICUs. Non-ICUs experienced significant increases in CRE, CRAB and VRE during the pandemic. In ICUs, CRE increased in 2021, CRAB in 2020 and 2021, and VRE in 2021 and 2022. KPC predominated among CRE. MDRO BSI and hospital acquisition incidence rates increased, driven by CRE and CRAB.

Keywords: Greece; Healthcare-associated infections; Multidrug resistance; Surveillance.