Editor's Note
This study, by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and California Department of Public Health, finds significant increases in healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in California acute-care hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically, central-line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections (BSIs).
The researchers found a positive association between facility occupancy of COVID-19 patients and the incidence of CLABSI and MRSA BSI. They did not find any association between facility occupancy of COVID-19 patients and Clostridioides difficile infections (CDIs); however, the standardized antimicrobial administration ratios (SAARs) for drugs associated with a high risk for CDI increased slightly.
These findings add to a body of literature documenting increases in HAIs during COVID-19, the researchers say.
