Background: Data on the prevalence of bacterial co-infections among COVID-19 patients are limited, especially in our country, Indonesia. We aimed to assess the rate of bacterial co-infections in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and report the most common microorganisms involved and the antibiotic use in these patients. Methods: This study is a retrospective cohort study, among COVID-19 adult patients admitted to Universitas Airlangga Hospital Surabaya from 14 March-30 September 2020. The bacterial infection is defined based on clinical assessment, laboratory parameters, and microbiology results. Results: A total of 218 patients with moderate to critical illness and confirmed COVID-19 were included in this study. Bacterial infection was confirmed in 43 patients (19.7%). COVID-19 patients with bacterial infections had longer hospital length of stay (17.6 ± 6.62 vs 13.31±7.12), a higher proportion of respiratory failure, intensive care treatment, and ventilator use. COVID-19 patients with bacterial infection had a worse prognosis than those without bacterial infection (p<0.04). The empirical antibiotic was given to 75.2% of the patients. Gram-negative bacteria were commonly found as causative agents in this study (n = 39; 70.37%). Conclusion: COVID-19 patients with bacterial infection have a longer length of stay and worse outcomes. Healthcare-associated infections during intensive care treatment for COVID-19 patients must be carefully prevented.

Carbapenem non-susceptible Acinetobacter baumannii (CNSAB) is an important pathogen that causes nosocomial bacteremia among critically ill patients worldwide. The magnitude of antibiotic resistance of A. baumanii in Indonesia is expected to be significant; however, the data available are limited. The aim of this study was to analyze the genetic profiles of CNSAB isolates from patients with bacteremia in Indonesia. CNSAB isolates from blood cultures of bacteremia patients in 12 hospitals in Indonesia were included. The blood cultures were conducted using the BacT/Alert or BACTEC automated system. The CNSAB were identified with either Vitek 2 system or Phoenix platform followed by a confirmation test using a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay, targeting the specific gyrB gene. The carbapenemase genes were detected by multiplex PCR. In total, 110 CNSAB isolates were collected and were mostly resistant to nearly all antibiotic classes. The majority of CNSAB isolates were susceptible to tigecycline and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX), 45.5% and 38.2%, respectively. The blaOXA-51-like gene was identified in all CNSAB isolates. Out of the total, 83.6% of CNSAB isolates had blaOXA-23-like gene, 37.3% blaOXA-24-like gene, 4.5% blaNDM-1 gene, 0.9% blaIMP-1 gene, and 0.9% blaVIM gene. No blaOXA-48-like gene was identified. The blaOXA-23-like gene was the predominant gene in all except two hospitals. The presence of the blaOXA-24-like gene was associated with resistance to tigecycline, amikacin, TMP-SMX and cefoperazone-sulbactam, while blaOXA-23-like gene was associated with resistance to TMP-SMX and cefoperazone-sulbactam. In conclusion, the blaOXA-23-like gene was the predominant gene among CNSAB isolates throughout Indonesia. A continuous national surveillance system needs to be established to further monitor the genetic profiles of CNSAB in Indonesia.

Background: Data on the prevalence of bacterial co-infections among COVID-19 patients are limited, especially in our country, Indonesia. We aimed to assess the rate of bacterial co-infections in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and report the most common microorganisms involved and the antibiotic use in these patients. Methods: This study is a cross sectional study with retrospective approach, among COVID-19 adult patients admitted to Universitas Airlangga Hospital Surabaya from 14 March-30 September 2020. The bacterial infection is defined based on clinical assessment, laboratory parameters, and microbiology results. Results: A total of 218 patients with moderate to critical illness and confirmed COVID-19 were included in this study. Bacterial infection was confirmed in 43 patients (19.7%). COVID-19 patients with bacterial infections had longer hospital length of stay (17.6 ± 6.62 vs 13.31±7.12), a higher proportion of respiratory failure, intensive care treatment, and ventilator use. COVID-19 patients with bacterial infection had a worse prognosis than those without bacterial infection (p<0.04). The empirical antibiotic was given to 75.2% of the patients. Gram-negative bacteria were commonly found as causative agents in this study (n = 39; 70.37%). Conclusion: COVID-19 patients with bacterial infection have a longer length of stay and worse outcomes. Healthcare-associated infections during intensive care treatment for COVID-19 patients must be carefully prevented.

Background: Carbapenem-resistance is marked as a major challenge to clinicians considering that carbapenems are considered as the last-line treatment for Enterobacteriaceae treatment. Molecular classification, with consideration of their geographical origin, of these organisms are found to be relevant to the drug of choice for the affected individuals.Methods and materials: A total of 27 clinical strains were tested in this study and 5 reference strains were used as positive controls of the study. Thus, this study focused on the detection of the different carbapenamase genes in the western province of Thailand namely blaKPC, blaOXA-48, blaNDM, and blaVIM using real-time PCR and multiplex PCR assay.Results: In this study, I demonstrated that among all clinical strains, 24 strains were positive for blaNDM gene which is about 77% while 5 strains were positive for blaOXA-48 which is 16%. However, among all the strains, 2 CRE strains were negative for any carbapenamase gene which showed 7% of all the clinical strains tested. Furthermore, 4 clinical strains were positive for 2 carbapenamase genes. Therefore, among all the clinical strains tested, only blaNDM and blaOXA-48 genes were detected. Conclusion:Overall, blaNDM is considered to be the dominant gene that is prevalent in Thailand. The data would help medical professionals in considering drug therapy for a patient with CRE infections. Further studies should consider testing more clinical strains and to analyze it with high precision and expertise. Surveillance and proper identification of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae will benefit the good prognosis of the future patients in Thailand.

Background. At the present time, COVID-19 vaccines are at the testing stage, and an effective treatment for COVID-19 incorporating appropriate safety measures remains the most significant obstacle to be overcome. A strategic countermeasure is, therefore, urgently required. Aim. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a combination of lopinavir/ritonavir-azithromycin, lopinavir/ritonavir-doxycycline, and azithromycin-hydroxychloroquine used to treat patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 infections. Setting and Design. This study was conducted at four different clinical study sites in Indonesia. The subjects gave informed consent for their participation and were confirmed as being COVID-19-positive by means of an RT-PCR test. The present study constituted a randomized, double-blind, and multicenter clinical study of patients diagnosed with mild to moderate COVID-19 infection. Materials and Methods. Six treatment groups participated in this study: a Control group administered with a 500 mg dose of azithromycin; Group A which received a 200/50 mg dose of lopinavir/ritonavir and 500 mg of azithromycin; Group B treated with a 200/50 mg dose of lopinavir/ritonavir and 200 mg of doxycycline; Group C administered with 200 mg of hydroxychloroquine and 500 mg of azithromycin; Group D which received a 400/100 mg dose of lopinavir/ritonavir and 500 mg of azithromycin; and Group E treated with a 400/100 mg dose of lopinavir/ritonavir and 200 mg of doxycycline. Results. 754 subjects participated in this study: 694 patients (92.4%) who presented mild symptoms and 57 patients (7.6%) classified as suffering from a moderate case of COVID-19. On the third day after treatment, 91.7%–99.2% of the subjects in Groups A–E were confirmed negative by a PCR swab test compared to 26.9% in the Control group. Observation of all groups which experienced a significant decrease in virus load between day 1 and day 7 was undertaken. Other markers, such as CRP and IL-6, were significantly lower in all treatment groups ( p < 0.05 and p < 0.0001 ) than in the Control group. Furthermore, IL-10 and TNF-α levels were significantly elevated in all treatment groups ( p < 0.0001 ). The administration of azithromycin to the Control group increased CRP and IL-6 levels, while reduced IL-10 and TNF-α on day 7 ( p < 0.0001 ) compared with day 1. Decreases in ALT and AST levels were observed in all groups ( p < 0.0001 ). There was an increase in creatinine in the serum level of the Control, C, D, and E groups ( p < 0.05 ), whereas the BUN level was elevated in all groups ( p < 0.0001 ). Conclusions. The study findings suggest that the administration of lopinavir/ritonavir-doxycycline, lopinavir/ritonavir-azithromycin, and azithromycin-hydroxychloroquine as a dual drug combination produced a significantly rapid PCR conversion rate to negative in three-day treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 cases. Further studies should involve observation of older patients with severe clinical symptoms in order to collate significant amounts of demographic data.

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The prevalence of bacteremia caused by carbapenem-non-susceptible Acinetobacter baumannii (CNSAB) continues to increase, and it is associated with a high mortality rate. Early recognition of infection and mortality determinants risk factors is necessary for adequate antibiotic administration. We aimed to determine the risk factors and outcomes of CNSAB bacteremia in Indonesia. A multicenter case-control study was conducted in three referral hospitals in Indonesia. Data were collected retrospectively from January 2019 to December 2021. Cases were defined as patients with bacteremia where CNSAB was isolated from the blood, while the controls were patients with bacteremia caused by carbapenem-susceptible A. baumannii (CSAB). Risk factors for bacteremia and mortality associated with CNSAB bacteremia were determined using univariates analysis (chi-squared and Student’s t-test or Mann–Whitney test) and multivariate logistic regression analysis. A total of 144 bacteremia patients were included, of whom 72 patients were for each case and control group. The final model of multivariate regression analysis revealed that bacteremia source from the lower respiratory tract (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 3.24; 95% CI: 1.58–6.63, p = 0.001) and the use of central venous catheter (aOR: 2.56; 95% CI: 1.27–5.18; p = 0.009) were independent risk factors for CNSAB bacteremia. Charlson Comorbidity Index ≥ 4 (aOR: 28.56; 95% CI: 3.06–265.90, p = 0.003) and Pitt Bacteremia Score ≥ 4 (aOR: 6.44; 95% CI: 1.17–35.38; p = 0.032) were independent risk factors for mortality due to CNSAB bacteremia. Only high Pitt Bacteremia Score was an independent risk factor for mortality of CSAB bacteremia. In conclusion, we identified the risk factors for CNSAB-associated bacteremia and the risk factors for death, which are relevant for empiric therapy and infection control prevention, as well as prognosis evaluation of patients with bloodstream infections.

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