Clinical microbiology and infection : the official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
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Clin. Microbiol. Infect. · Jan 2021
SARS Coronavirus-2 variant tracing within the first Coronavirus Disease 19 clusters in northern Germany.
Investigation whether in depth characterization of virus variant patterns can be used for epidemiological analysis of the first severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection clusters in Hamburg, Germany. ⋯ SARS-CoV-2 variant tracing allows the identification of infection clusters and the follow up of infection chains occurring in the population. Furthermore, the follow up of minor viral variants in infection clusters can provide further resolution on transmission events indistinguishable at a consensus sequence level.
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Clin. Microbiol. Infect. · Jan 2021
Review Meta AnalysisEffect of hydroxychloroquine with or without azithromycin on the mortality of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without azithromycin have been widely promoted to treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) following early in vitro antiviral effects against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). ⋯ Hydroxychloroquine alone was not associated with reduced mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients but the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin significantly increased mortality.
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Clin. Microbiol. Infect. · Jan 2021
Multicenter Study Observational StudyEfficacy of corticosteroid treatment for hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19: a multicentre study.
To assess the efficacy of corticosteroids in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). ⋯ The effect of corticosteroid treatment on mortality might be limited to critically ill COVID-19 patients.
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Clin. Microbiol. Infect. · Jan 2021
Practice GuidelineRecommendations for antibacterial therapy in adults with COVID-19 - an evidence based guideline.
The Dutch Working Party on Antibiotic Policy constituted a multidisciplinary expert committee to provide evidence-based recommendation for the use of antibacterial therapy in hospitalized adults with a respiratory infection and suspected or proven 2019 Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). ⋯ We assessed evidence on the risk of bacterial infections in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the associated bacterial pathogens, how to diagnose bacterial infections and how to treat bacterial infections. Bacterial co-infection upon admission was reported in 3.5% of COVID-19 patients, while bacterial secondary infections during hospitalization occurred up to 15%. No or very low quality evidence was found to answer the other key clinical questions. Although the evidence base on bacterial infections in COVID-19 is currently limited, available evidence supports restrictive antibiotic use from an antibiotic stewardship perspective, especially upon admission. To support restrictive antibiotic use, maximum efforts should be undertaken to obtain sputum and blood culture samples as well as pneumococcal urinary antigen testing. We suggest to stop antibiotics in patients who started antibiotic treatment upon admission when representative cultures as well as urinary antigen tests show no signs of involvement of bacterial pathogens after 48 hours. For patients with secondary bacterial respiratory infection we recommend to follow other guideline recommendations on antibacterial treatment for patients with hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated pneumonia. An antibiotic treatment duration of five days in patients with COVID-19 and suspected bacterial respiratory infection is recommended upon improvement of signs, symptoms and inflammatory markers. Larger, prospective studies about the epidemiology of bacterial infections in COVID-19 are urgently needed to confirm our conclusions and ultimately prevent unnecessary antibiotic use during the COVID-19 pandemic.