More Than Half Of COVID Patients With Secondary Infections Die: Study

A study by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has found that hospital infections and secondary infections are causing deaths among COVID patients. The study shows 56% of COVID patients with secondary infection have died due to bacterial infections or fungal infections, reported India Today.

The study, recently published in the journal 'Infection and Drug Resistance', found that out of 17,534 Covid-19 patients admitted in 10 hospitals across the country, 3.6 per cent developed secondary bacterial or fungal infection while in the hospital.

The mortality among patients who developed secondary infections was as high as 56.7 per cent compared to overall mortality of 10.6 per cent among hospitalised COVID patients in general, the study said, reported The Hindu Business Line.

The mortality rate was manifold in case of secondary infections as against the overall mortality of COVID patients admitted at hospitals.

The researchers pointed out that hand hygiene practices went for a toss during the pandemic because of the usage of PPE and, thus, there is a risk of inter-patient transmission of infections in patients.

According to the study, there is an urgent need to improve infection control practices in hospitals and rationalise antibiotic prescriptions.

Prevalence of bacterial and fungal super-infections in hospitalised Indian patients with Covid-19 is low, but when such infections are present, they cause severe diseases with worst outcomes, as most super-infections are caused by drug-resistant pathogens.

According to the study, there is an urgent need to improve infection control practices in hospitals and rationalise antibiotic prescriptions.

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