Impact of respiratory viruses in hospital-acquired pneumonia in the intensive care unit: A single-center retrospective study

Abstract Background Data on the frequency and role of respiratory viruses (RVs) in hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) are still scarce. Objectives We assessed the proportion of RVs and their impact on the outcome of hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) in the intensive care unit (ICU). Study design Cases of HAP were retrospectively selected among patients who underwent screening for RVs by multiplex PCR (mPCR) in the ICU of a French tertiary care hospital from May 2014 to April 2016. ICU length of stay and in-hospital mortality were compared between four groups defined according to the identified pathogens: virus only (V), virus/bacteria (V/B), bacteria only (B) and no pathogen (Neg). When available, previous mPCR was retrieved in order to assess possible chronic viral carriage. Results Overall, 95/999 (10%) ICU patients who underwent mPCR had HAP (V(17,18%), V/B(13,14%), B(60,63%), Neg(5,5%)). Median age was 61 years and 45 (47%) were immunocompromised. Influenza (27%) and rhinovirus (27%) were the most common RVs. V/B group had higher mortality rate than B and V groups (62% vs. 40% and 35%, p = 0.3) and a significantly longer length of stay (31 days (18–48)) than V group (5 days (3–11), p = 0.0002)) and B group (14.5 days (5.5–25.5), p = 0.007)). Among the 15 patients with available mPCR tests before viral HAP, seven were negative and eight were positive corresponding to long-term carriage of community-acquired viruses. Discussion RVs were detected in 32% of HAP patients who underwent mPCR. Two situations were encountered: (i) acute acquired viral infection; (ii) long-term viral carriage (mostly rhinovirus) especially in immunocompromised patients complicated by a virus/bacteria coinfection. The latter was associated with a longer length of stay and a trend toward a higher mortality.