No association seen for acquisition of hospital-acquired respiratory pathogen with fatal outcomes for patients with COVID-19<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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MONDAY, Sept. 13, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Increased severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) abundance and low anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody response are associated with COVID-19 mortality, while hospital-acquired respiratory pathogen acquisition is not associated with fatal outcomes, according to a study published online Aug. 31 in Nature Microbiology<\/em>.<\/p>\n Imran Sulaiman, M.D., from the New York Grossman School of Medicine in New York City, and colleagues examined whether bacterial respiratory infections are associated with poor clinical outcomes of COVID-19 in a prospective observational cohort of 589 critically ill adults who needed mechanical ventilation. SARS-CoV-2 viral load was quantified for a subset of 142 patients who underwent bronchoscopy, and their lower respiratory tract microbiome was analyzed using metagenomics and metatranscriptomics; in addition, the host immune response was profiled.<\/p>\n The researchers observed no association for acquisition of a hospital-acquired respiratory pathogen with fatal outcomes. There was an association seen for poor clinical outcome with lower airway enrichment with an oral commensal (Mycoplasma salivarium<\/em>). The factors most predictive of mortality were increased SARS-CoV-2 abundance, low anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody response, and a distinct host transcriptome profile of the lower airways.<\/p>\n “Our findings suggest that the body’s failure to cope with the large numbers of virus infecting the lungs is largely responsible for COVID-19 deaths in the pandemic,” Sulaiman said in a statement.<\/p>\n The study was partially funded by several pharmaceutical companies.<\/p>\n