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The following is a summary of “Relationship between SARS-CoV-2 infection and ICU-acquired candidemia in critically ill medical patients: a multicenter prospective cohort study,” published in the September 2024 issue of Critical Care by Reizine et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to analyze the impact of SARS-CoV2 infection on the development of intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired candidemia (ICAC).  

They used the REA-REZO network (French surveillance network of ICU-acquired infections), including adult patients hospitalized for medical reasons in participating ICUs for at least 48 hours from January 2020 to January 2023. To account for confounders, a non-parsimonious propensity score matching was performed. ICAC rates were compared according to SARS-CoV2 status in matched patients, and factors associated with ICAC in patients with COVID-19 were assessed using a Fine-grass model.   

The results showed a total of 55,268 patients hospitalized for at least 48 hours in 101 ICUs were included for medical reasons. Of these, 13,472 tested positive for SARS-CoV2 infection, while 284 patients developed ICAC. ICAC rates were higher in patients with COVID-19 in both the overall population and the matched cohort (0.8% (107/13,472) vs. 0.4% (173/41,796); P<0.001 and 0.8% (93/12,241) vs. 0.5% (57/12,241); P=0.004, respectively). The ICAC incidence rate was also higher in individuals with COVID-19 (0.51 per 1000 patients-days versus 0.32 per 1000 patients-days; incidence rate ratio: 1.58 [95% CI: 1.08–2.35]; P= 0.018). Finally, patients with ICAC had a higher ICU mortality rate (49.6% versus 20.2%; P< 0.001).  

They concluded that in this large multicenter cohort of patients in ICU, although remaining low, the rate of ICAC was higher among patients with COVID-19. 

Source: ccforum.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13054-024-05104-w