Table 2.
Causes of Proven Bacterial Lung Infections in Postmortem Tissue Samples of Patients With COVID-19
| Direct Visualization of Bacteria in Tissue, No. | Positive Culture Results for Bacteria, No. | Positive PCR Results for Bacteria, No. |
|---|---|---|
| Bacteria NOS, 24 | Acinetobacter baumannii, 12 | Streptoococcus spp., 3 |
| Staphylococcus aureus, 10 | ||
| Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 10 | ||
| Klebsiella pneumoniae, 8 | ||
| Escherichia coli, 3 | ||
| Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, 2 | ||
| Enterococcus spp., 2 | ||
| Proteus mirabilis, 1 | ||
| Enterobacter cloacae, 1 | ||
| Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, 1 | ||
| “Mixed flora,” 3a |
Abbreviations: COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; NOS, not otherwise specified; PCR, polymerase chain reaction.
a“Mixed flora” typically are ascribed to postmortem contamination; these cases were not included as potential superinfections in our series.