Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the epidemiology and molecular features of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bloodstream infections.

ABSTRACT: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) bloodstream infections (BSIs) are severe, life-threatening events. PA success involves a complex interplay between virulence, antimicrobial resistance and epidemicity. This study examines the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on PA-BSI characteristics. Seventy-eight bacteraemic PA isolates were collected in two periods: pre-COVID 2015-2018 (48 PA) and post-COVID 2022-2023 (30 PA). An increase in non-susceptibility rates was found in post-COVID period, noteworthy for gentamicin, netilmicin and multidrug-resistance, although extensively drug resistant/difficult-to-treat (XDR/DTR) isolates were only detected in pre-COVID period. All isolates were cefiderocol-susceptible, but resistance to novel cephalosporin-inhibitor combinations and colistin was identified in pre-COVID

SUBMITTER: Lopez M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12246449 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature