Microbial diversity and antimicrobial susceptibility in endotracheal tube biofilms recovered from mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients.

ABSTRACT: In patients with acute respiratory failure, mechanical ventilation through an endotracheal tube (ET) may be required to correct hypoxemia and hypercarbia. However, biofilm formation on these ETs is a risk factor for infections in intubated patients, as the ET can act as a reservoir of microorganisms that can cause infections in the lungs. As severely ill COVID-19 patients often need to be intubated, a better knowledge of the composition of ET biofilms in this population is important. In Spring 2020, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, 31 ETs were obtained from COVID-19 patients at Ghent University Hospital (Ghent, Belgium). Biofilms were collected from the ET and the biofilm composition was determined using culture-dependent (MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and biochemica

SUBMITTER: van Charante F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9192360 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature