Bacterial and viral co-infections in patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia admitted to a French ICU

We report on a 28% rate of bacterial co-infection at ICU admission of patients with severe SARSCoV-2 pneumonia, mostly related to Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Enterobacteriaceae. In French patients with confirmed severe SARSCoV-2 pneumonia requiring ICU admission, our results encourage the systematic administration of an empiric antibiotic monotherapy with a 3rd generation cephalosporin, with a prompt de-escalation as soon as possible. Further larger studies are needed to assess the real prevalence and the predictors of co-infection together with its prognostic impact on critically ill patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia.