Skip to main content
. 2021 Mar 11;49(4):591–605. doi: 10.1007/s15010-021-01602-z

Table 2.

Studies in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients With Types of Microorganisms Reported, Rate of Antibiotic Use, and Time to Diagnosis of Secondary Pulmonary Infections

Study Top Five Bacterial Microorganisms From Respiratory Tract Culture Fungal Microorganisms From Respiratory Tract Culture Empirical Antibiotic Therapy (%) Median Day to Secondary Pulmonary Infection Diagnosis From Admission
Observational Studies
Alanio et al. [43] NR 100% Aspergillus fumigatus NR NR
Barrasa et al. [25] 50% Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 16% Enterococcus faecium, 16% Haemophilus influenzae, 16% Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) NR 87.5 NR
Bartoletti et al. [14] NR 78.9% Aspergillus fumigatus, 15.8% Aspergillus niger, 5.3% Aspergillus flavus NR 4 (ICU)
Chang et al. [12] 36% Klebsiella spp., 23% MSSA, 11% Escherichia coli, 11% Serratia spp., 11% Stenotrophomonas spp. NR NR NR
Du et al. [56] Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus species** NR NR NR
Dupont et al. [69] NR 87.5% Aspergillus fumigatus, 6.3% Aspergillus flavus, 6.3% Aspergillus calidoustus NR 11 (ICU)
Fekkar et al. [17] NR 66.7% Aspergillus fumigatus, 22.2% Mucor spp., 11.1% Fusarium proliferatum NR 18 (ICU)
Feng et al. [32] NR NR 67.1 NR
Fu et al. [23] 29% Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 29% Burkholderia cepacia, 14% Escherichia coli, 14% Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) Klebsiella pneumoniae, 14% Stenotrophomonas maltophilia 100% Aspergillus fumigatus NR 12
Gangneux et al. [70] NR 100% Aspergillus fumigatus NR NR
Garcia-Vidal et al. [22] 33% multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 25% ESBL Escherichia coli, 21% ESBL Klebsiella pneumoniae, 21% Staphylococcus aureus 100% Aspergillus fumigatus 61.9 11
Helleberg et al. [71] NR 100% Aspergillus fumigatus NR 3 (ICU)
Huang et al. [30] NR NR 100  > 2
Karmen-Tuohy et al. [58] 29% Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, 29% Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 14% Escherichia coli, 14% Klebsiella pneumoniae, 14% Staphylococcus aureus NR NR  > 6
Lamoth et al. [72] NR 100% Aspergillus fumigatus 100 6 (ICU)
Machado et al. [35] NR 66.6% Aspergillus fumigatus, 16.7% Aspergillus citrinoterreus, 16.7% Aspergillus lentulus 100 15 (ICU)
Nasir et al. [26] 25% Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 25% Acinetobacter spp., 25% Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, 12.5% Klebsiella pneumoniae, 12.5% MRSA 60% Aspergillus flavus, 20% Aspergillus fumigatus, 20% Aspergillus terreus 77.7 7
Roman-Montes et al. [73] NR 54.5% Aspergillus fumigatus, 27.3% Aspergillus spp., 9.1% Aspergillus flavus, 9.1% Aspergillus niger NR 9
Rouze et al. [13] 22.3% Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 18.8% Enterobacter spp., 11.5% Klebsiella spp., 9.4% MSSA, 8.4% Escherichia coli NR 93.2 NR
Rutsaert et al. [15] NR 83% Aspergillus fumigatus, 17% Aspergillus Flavus NR 6
Segrelles-Calvo et al. [74] NR 42.8% Aspergillus fumigatus, 28.6% Aspergillus flavus, 28.6% Aspergillus niger NR NR
Torrego et al. [11] 39% Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 11% Enterobacter cloacae, 11% Enterococcus faecalis, 11% Klebsiella aerogenes, 11% Staphylococcus aureus NR NR  < 21
Van Arkel et al. [75] NR 100% Aspergillus fumigatus NR 12
Van Biesen et al. [16] NR 71.4% Aspergillus fumigatus, 14.3% Aspergillus flavus, 14.3% Aspergillus terreus NR 5 (ICU)
Wang et al. [57] NR NR NR NR
White et al. [34] NR 91.6% Aspergillus fumigatus, 8.4% Aspergillus versicolor 98.0 8 (ICU)
Yang et al. [24] 25% ESBL Klebsiella pneumoniae, 25% Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, 25% MDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 25% Serratia marcescens 50% Aspergillus fumigatus, 50% Aspergillus flavus 94.2 NR
Zhou et al. [31] NR NR 94.8 17
Case Series/Reports Top Five Bacterial Microorganisms From Respiratory Tract Culture Fungal Microorganisms From Respiratory Tract Culture Antibiotic/ Antifungal
Therapy* (%)
Median Day to Secondary Pulmonary Infection Diagnosis From Admission
Abdalla et al. [76] NR 50% Aspergillus niger, 50% Aspergillus terreus 100 12 (ICU)
Blanco et al. [19] NR 100% Pneumocystis jirovecii 60.0 12
Falces-Romero et al. [77] NR 87.5% Aspergillus fumigatus, 12.5% A. nidulans 80.0 17.1
Koehler et al. [78] NR 100% Aspergillus fumigatus NR NR
Lahmer et al. [79] NR 100% Aspergillus fumigatus NR 5.5 (ICU)
Lescure et al. [80] 100% Acinetobacter baumannii 100% Aspergillus fumigatus NR NR
Sharifipour et al. [81] 89.4% Acinetobacter baumannii, 5.3% MSSA, 5.3% MRSA NR NR NR
Antinori et al. [82] NR 100% Aspergillus fumigatus 100 9
Blaize et al. [83] NR 100% Aspergillus fumigatus 100 4
Duployez et al. [84] 100% Panton-Valentine Leukocidin (PVL) Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) N/A 100 5
Fernandez et al. [85] 100% Enterococcus faecalis, Acinetobacter baumannii 100% Aspergillus fumigatus 100 10
Ghelfenstein et al. [86] NR 100% Aspergillus fumigatus 100 6
Kelly et al. [21] NR 100% Pneumocystis jirovecii 100 10
Mang et al. [20] NR 100% Pneumocystis jirovecii 100 20
Meijer et al. [87] NR 100% Aspergillus fumigatus 100 6
Menon et al. [18] NR 100% Pneumocystis jirovecii NR NR
Mohamed et al. [47] Klebsiella Varicola 100% Aspergillus fumigatus 100 7
Nasri et al. [88] NR 100% Aspergillus spp. 100 9
Prattes et al. [89] NR 100% Aspergillus fumigatus 100 3 (ICU)
Schein et al. [90] NR 100% Aspergillus spp. 100 16
Sharma et al. [91] NR 100% Aspergillus fumigatus 100 16

*Among those with secondary infections

**Percentage frequency of bacterial or fungal microorganisms not reported

NR not reported, Spp. Species