According to a study that may lead to new treatment strategies, people with cases of severe Covid19 who also had secondary infections in the bloodstream were sicker, had longer hospital stays, and worse health outcomes. Published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, the research-study is the first to assess the microbiology, risk factors, and outcomes in hospitalized patients with severe Covid-19 and secondary bloodstream infections.

In the study, researchers from Rutgers University in the US assessed 375 patients diagnosed with severe Covid-19 from March to May 2020. They sampled 128 cases from the group that had secondary bloodstream infections, 92 percent of which were bacterial infections.

Study co-lead author Pinki Bhatt from Rutgers University stated, “These patients were more likely to have altered mental status, lower percent oxygen saturation, and septic shock and to be admitted to the intensive care unit compared to those without bloodstream infections.”

According to the scientists, patients who needed more advanced types of supplemental oxygen upon hospital admission had higher odds of secondary bloodstream infections. The researchers said that the in-hospital mortality rate for these patients was more than 50 percent, but added that these deaths were associated with, not caused by the condition.

They believe that these infections in Covid-19 patients may have contributed to the severity of illness, or it may reflect other underlying physiological and immunological complications of Covid-19. According to the study, 80 percent of all the patients in the study received antimicrobials at some point during hospitalization, including those who did not have bloodstream infections.

“This likely reflects clinicians’ inclination to administer antimicrobials given the limited information on the natural course of this novel disease,” Bhatt said. However, she added that further studies are needed to better understand when to suspect and treat secondary bloodstream infections in severe Covid-19.

Update on Covid-19 recoveries in India

India’s tally of cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) rose to 10,207,871 on Monday, as the Union health ministry reported that the country had logged a total of 20,021 new infections in the preceding 24 hours. However, of India’s total tally of cases, more than 9.7 million or nearly 96% of patients have defeated the disease, making its active caseload, as well as the recovery rate, among the highest in the world.

As of Monday, a total of 9,782,669 patients have recovered from Covid-19, as per the health ministry’s dashboard. India had crossed the 9.7 million recovery mark on December 25, with the total recovered cases being 9,717,834 on the day. This means that the country reported nearly 65,000 or 64,835 recoveries between December 25-28. Earlier in the day, the health ministry shared a graph, showing India’s progression from 100,000 to 9.7 million recoveries