Large increase in bloodstream infections with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter species during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, EU/EEA, 2020 and 2021

EARS-Net Study Group (Portugal: Manuela Caniça).EARS-Net Study Group participants: Reinhild Strauss, Karl Mertens, Stefana Sabtcheva, Arjana Tambic Andrasevic, Panagiota Maikanti, Helena Žemličková, Henrik Hasman, Marina Ivanova, Kati Räisänen, Sylvie Maugat, Ines Noll, Kassiani Mellou, Ákos Tóth, Kristján Orri Helgason, Stephen Murchan, Giulia Errico, Ieva Voita, Esther Walser-Domjan, Jolanta Miciulevičienė, Monique Perrin, Elizabeth Anne Scicluna, Sjoukje Hs Woudt, Ørjan Samuelsen, Dorota Żabicka, Manuela Caniça, Gabriel Adrian Popescu, Eva Schréterová, Helena Ribič, Maria Belén Aracil García, Hanna Billström.Bloodstream infections (BSIs) with Acinetobacter species commonly have poor outcomes, especially in intensive care unit (ICU) patients [1]. Acinetobacter spp. is intrinsically resistant to many antimicrobials, and additional acquired resistance further complicates the treatment of serious infections in already vulnerable patient groups. Recent data from the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-Net) show a large and statistically significant increase in reports of Acinetobacter spp. BSIs in the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) during the period from 2017 to 2021 [2]. Most of this increase occurred in 2020 and 2021, the first years of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Here we further explore this trend in a subset of data from laboratories that continuously reported data during that period.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections : Diverging trends of meticillin-resistant and meticillin-susceptible isolates, EU/EEA, 2005 to 2018

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). All rights reserved.Background: Invasive infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus have high clinical and epidemiological relevance. It is therefore important to monitor the S. aureus trends using suitable methods. Aim: The study aimed to describe the trends of bloodstream infections (BSI) caused by meticillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and meticillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). Methods: Annual data on S. aureus BSI from 2005 to 2018 were obtained from the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-Net). Trends of BSI were assessed at the EU/EEA level by adjusting for blood culture set rate (number of blood culture sets per 1,000 days of hospitalisation) and stratification by patient characteristics.Results: Considering a fixed cohort of laboratories consistently reporting data over the entire study period, MRSA percentages among S. aureus BSI decreased from 30.2% in 2005 to 16.3% in 2018. Concurrently, the total number of BSI caused by S. aureus increased by 57%, MSSA BSI increased by 84% and MRSA BSI decreased by 31%. All these trends were statistically significant (p<0.001). Conclusions: The results indicate an increasing health burden of MSSA BSI in the EU/EEA despite a significant decrease in the MRSA percentage. These findings highlight the importance of monitoring antimicrobial resistance trends by assessing not only resistance percentages but also the incidence of infections. Further research is needed on the factors associated with the observed trends and on their attributable risk.Peer reviewe

Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections: Diverging trends of meticillin-resistant and meticillin-susceptible isolates, EU/EEA, 2005 to 2018

Background: Invasive infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus have high clinical and epidemiological relevance. It is therefore important to monitor the S. aureus trends using suitable methods. Aim: The study aimed to describe the trends of bloodstream infections (BSI) caused by meticillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and meticillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). Methods: Annual data on S. aureus BSI from 2005 to 2018 were obtained from the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-Net). Trends of BSI were assessed at the EU/EEA level by adjusting for blood culture set rate (number of blood culture sets per 1,000 days of hospitalisation) and stratification by patient characteristics.Results: Considering a fixed cohort of laboratories consistently reporting data over the entire study period, MRSA percentages among S. aureus BSI decreased from 30.2% in 2005 to 16.3% in 2018. Concurrently, the total number of BSI caused by S. aureus increased by 57%, MSSA BSI increased by 84% and MRSA BSI decreased by 31%. All these trends were statistically significant (p Conclusions: The results indicate an increasing health burden of MSSA BSI in the EU/EEA despite a significant decrease in the MRSA percentage. These findings highlight the importance of monitoring antimicrobial resistance trends by assessing not only resistance percentages but also the incidence of infections. Further research is needed on the factors associated with the observed trends and on their attributable risk