Author Interviews, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, Pulmonary Disease / 15.01.2021
Rapid Test Identifies Secondary Pneumonia infections in COVID-19 Patients
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
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Dr. Conway Morris[/caption]
Dr Andrew Conway Morris
Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Career Development Fellow
University of Cambridge
Hon Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine
Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Patients with COVID-19 frequently need to come to the intensive care unit (ICU), where we use mechanical ventilation to support their lungs as they get over the intense inflammation caused by the virus. During the first wave of the virus we noted that a lot of our patients appeared to be developing secondary infections (infections they didn’t have when they came into the ICU).
We therefore rolled out a rapid diagnostic test for these secondary bacterial infections that we had developed previously, and this study reports the use of this diagnostic and also describes the types of bacteria seen. To see if the increase in secondary infections was due to COVID specifically, we compared them to patients who were managed in the same ICU but who did not have COVID.
Dr. Conway Morris[/caption]
Dr Andrew Conway Morris
Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Career Development Fellow
University of Cambridge
Hon Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine
Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Patients with COVID-19 frequently need to come to the intensive care unit (ICU), where we use mechanical ventilation to support their lungs as they get over the intense inflammation caused by the virus. During the first wave of the virus we noted that a lot of our patients appeared to be developing secondary infections (infections they didn’t have when they came into the ICU).
We therefore rolled out a rapid diagnostic test for these secondary bacterial infections that we had developed previously, and this study reports the use of this diagnostic and also describes the types of bacteria seen. To see if the increase in secondary infections was due to COVID specifically, we compared them to patients who were managed in the same ICU but who did not have COVID.
Dr. Hooker[/caption]
Edmond A. Hooker, MD, DrPH
Professor, Department of Health Services Administration
MHSA Associate Director for Accreditation
Xavier University
Cincinnati, Ohio
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Healthcare acquired infections are still a huge problem in the US. Most hospitals are not following the hospital bed manufacturers guidelines for cleaning these mattresses and bed decks (the metal bed frame). Many use only a single step, when the manufacturers recommend a 5-6 step process (pre-clean any obvious soil, clean, rinse off cleaner, disinfect, rinse off disinfectant, inspect mattress for damage). The problem is that, if done, this takes 45 minutes to 1 hours. Most hospitals turn over a hospital room in less than 30 minutes. The launderable bed cover allows the bed to be cleaned and turned over in minutes, not an hours. 
Dr. Rhee[/caption]
Chanu Rhee, MD,MPH
Assistant Professor of Population Medicine
Harvard Medical School / Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute
Assistant Hospital Epidemiologist
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Sepsis is the body’s reaction to a serious infection that results a cascade of inflammation in the body and organ dysfunction, such as low blood pressure, confusion, or failure of the lungs, kidneys, or liver. Sepsis is a major cause of death, disability, and cost in the U.S. and around the world. Growing recognition of this problem has led to numerous sepsis performance improvement initiatives in hospitals around the country. Some of these efforts have also been catalyzed by high-profile tragic cases of missed sepsis leading to death, which may have contributed to a perception that most sepsis deaths are preventable if doctors and hospitals were only better at recognizing it.
However, the extent to which sepsis-related deaths might be preventable with better hospital-based care is unknown. In my own experience as a critical care physician, a lot of sepsis patients we treat are extremely sick and even when they receive timely and optimal medical care, many do not survive. This led myself and my colleagues to conduct this study to better understand what types of patients are dying from sepsis and how preventable these deaths might be. 
