Patterns of germs before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients at Dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo, Makassar, Indonesia

Abstract

Background: The intensive care unit (ICU) is a unit that cares for patients with a high risk of infection, while viral infections are one of the predisposing factors for someone being easily infected with bacteria. This research aims to see a picture of germ patterns before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This research is descriptive with a retrospective approach. The research sample used secondary data from microbial culture results of clinical specimens (blood, sputum, pus, urine, etc.) from ICU patients for the period 2019-2022 at the Clinical Pathology Laboratory of Dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital, Makassar. Data is grouped into Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, based on the highest order, and presented as tables and graphs. Results: There were 440 isolates, 80 Gram-positive isolates (18%) and 360 Gram-negative isolates (82%). The five most common types of isolates were dominated by the Gram-negative group in the last 4 years, respectively: Burkholderia cepacia 92 (21%), Acinetobacter baumannii 89 (20%), Klebsiella pneumoniae ss. pneumoniae 58 (13%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa 37 (8%), Escherichia coli 37 (8%), and Staphylococcus aureus ss. aureus was the 6th most common, with 20 (5%) isolates. The majority of isolates identified were obtained from blood, as many as 192 (44%), sputum 136 (31%), pus 52 (12%) and urine 8 (2%). Bacteremia was the largest cause of infection by Burkholderia cepacia, 91 (47%), while sputum was dominated by Acinetobacter baumannii 49 (26%). Conclusion: The germ pattern in the ICU before, during, and after Gram-negative bacteria dominated the COVID-19 pandemic. Bacteremia is the largest proportion of causes of infection.