Abstract

Background:
From 2019 to 2021, the world was caught in the grappling clutches of the novel coronavirus, claiming almost 6.9 million lives, thus adding to the burden on the healthcare system.

Aim:
We aim to determine the rate of co-infections in COVID-19-affected individuals, describe their characteristics, and compare their mortality rates.

Methods:
Patients admitted with COVID-19 pneumonia between June 2020 and March 2021 who tested positive were identified from the hospital RT-PCR records, and their data was collected using the hospital information system. The primary outcome of this study was the all-cause in-hospital mortality. Proportions were compared using the Fisher exact test, and continuous variables were compared using the student t-test.

Results:
Data suggests that the most common co-infection was bacterial pneumonia (36.7%). Even though mortality was observed, it was not statistically significant. The mean length of stay in co-infected patients (11 days) was longer than in patients without co-infections. On univariate analysis, there was a significantly higher value of CRP in patients with co-infection than in patients without co-infection.

Conclusion:
This study sheds light on the complex interplay between co-infections and their outcomes, adding to the research needed to optimise patient care in a similar future pandemic.

Key words: COVID-19, Pneumonia, Co-infection