Clinical Impact of a Molecular Pneumonia Panel in Adult Patients Hospitalized with Severe COVID-19 and Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia at a Peruvian Hospital.
Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the infectious diseases with the highest mortality due to increasing bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Therefore, early diagnosis and targeted treatment against the etiologic agent are essential. The use of a pneumonia panel facilitates identification of the causative pathogen earlier than with conventional culture and may mitigate adverse events in patients.
To evaluate the association between the use of a pneumonia panel and clinical outcomes in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia at a Peruvian hospital.
This retrospective cohort included patients diagnosed with severe COVID-19 and VAP between May 2021 and February 2022 in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital in Lima, Peru. All patients diagnosed using panel + culture (n = 89) were included, and 89 controls diagnosed using culture only were randomly selected. Adjusted regression models were used to evaluate the association with clinical outcomes.
178 patients were included (mean age: 47.9 years; males: 72.5%). When comparing the panel + culture and culture-only groups, adjusted analyses found no statistically significant differences in mortality (aRR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.25 to 1.27), days on mechanical ventilation (aMD: 4.74, 95% CI: -0.76 to 10.23), or ICU length of stay (aMD: 4.94, 95% CI: -1.09 to 10.97). However, the panel + culture group had more days of antibiotic therapy (aMD: 2.00, 95% CI: 0.45 to 3.55) and a higher number of isolated microorganisms.
No differences were found in mortality, ICU length of stay, or days on mechanical ventilation. However, a greater number of days of antibiotic therapy was observed in the cohort using the pneumonia panel.
To evaluate the association between the use of a pneumonia panel and clinical outcomes in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia at a Peruvian hospital.
This retrospective cohort included patients diagnosed with severe COVID-19 and VAP between May 2021 and February 2022 in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital in Lima, Peru. All patients diagnosed using panel + culture (n = 89) were included, and 89 controls diagnosed using culture only were randomly selected. Adjusted regression models were used to evaluate the association with clinical outcomes.
178 patients were included (mean age: 47.9 years; males: 72.5%). When comparing the panel + culture and culture-only groups, adjusted analyses found no statistically significant differences in mortality (aRR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.25 to 1.27), days on mechanical ventilation (aMD: 4.74, 95% CI: -0.76 to 10.23), or ICU length of stay (aMD: 4.94, 95% CI: -1.09 to 10.97). However, the panel + culture group had more days of antibiotic therapy (aMD: 2.00, 95% CI: 0.45 to 3.55) and a higher number of isolated microorganisms.
No differences were found in mortality, ICU length of stay, or days on mechanical ventilation. However, a greater number of days of antibiotic therapy was observed in the cohort using the pneumonia panel.
Authors
Salas-Guzmán Salas-Guzmán, Rondan Rondan, Martínez-Heredia Martínez-Heredia, Mori-Llontop Mori-Llontop, Taype-Rondan Taype-Rondan
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