The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on blood culture practices and bloodstream infections

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has likely influenced the epidemiology of bacterial infections through wide-ranging changes to clinical practices and infection control and prevention interventions. We sought to determine how the detection and incidence of bloodstream infections (BSIs) have been influenced by the pandemic. We performed a retrospective analysis of blood culture data in the province of Ontario, Canada, from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2020. Outcomes included a weekly incidence of blood culture tests, BSIs, and contaminant results. Results were stratified by hospital, community, and long-term care (LTC) settings. An interrupted time series analysis using segmented regression models was used to determine changes in outcome incidence/prevalence during the pre- and peri-pandemic periods. Of the 14,083,853 individuals included, 129,329 (0.92%) developed a bloodstream infection. The blood culture ordering rate increased during the pandemic in the hospital setting only [Incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01–1.19]. There was a decline in the incidence of community-acquired (IRR 0.95, 95% CI 0.91–0.99) and LTC-acquired (IRR 0.85, 95% CI 0.76–0.94) BSIs. Hospital-acquired BSIs were unchanged. The proportion of blood culture contaminants increased in the community (7% increase, P < 0.01) and LTC settings (14% increase, P < 0.05). There was decreased incidence of community-acquired Streptococcus pneumoniae (IRR 0.43, 95% CI 0.33–0.57) and Staphylococcus aureus (IRR 0.91, 95% CI 0.84–0.99) bacteremia. Pandemic-related changes in the performance of blood cultures and the epidemiology of BSIs have implications for current and future pandemic antimicrobial use, healthcare resource allocation, and hospital and laboratory policies. IMPORTANCE Bacterial infections are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, previous studies have demonstrated pandemic-related shifts in the epidemiology of bacterial bloodstream infections (BSIs) in the general population and in specific hospital systems. Our study uses a large, comprehensive data set stratified by setting [community, long-term care (LTC), and hospital] to uniquely demonstrate how the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on BSIs and testing practices varies by healthcare setting. We showed that, while the number of false-positive blood culture results generally increased during the pandemic, this effect did not apply to hospitalized patients. We also found that many infections were likely under-recognized in patients in the community and in LTC, demonstrating the importance of maintaining healthcare for these groups during crises. Last, we found a decrease in infections caused by certain pathogens in the community, suggesting some secondary benefits of pandemic-related public health measures.