Korean J Dermatol.  2024 Jan;62(1):9-17.

Differences in Clinical Characteristics and Antibiotic Susceptibility in Bacterial Skin Infections Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

• Kwak JH
• Choi H
• Na CH
• Shin BS
• Kim MS

Abstract

Background
Bacterial skin infections are commonly observed in dermatological practice. After the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, individuals have become concerned about personal hygiene. It is expected that infectious diseases will decrease, and there will be differences in the characteristics of isolated microorganisms, including antibiotic susceptibility.
Objective
This study aimed to analyze the differences in the characteristics of bacterial skin infections before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods
We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent bacterial culture and susceptibility tests at Chosun University Hospital for the treatment of bacterial skin infections. The period before the COVID-19 pandemic is from January 2018 to December 2019, and the period after the COVID-19 pandemic is from January 2020 to December 2021. We analyzed the antibiotic susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus in the patients.
Results
Overall, 578 patients were included in this study. The age of the patients increased from 39.9 years before the COVID-19 pandemic to 44.2 years (p=0.03). The number of hospitalized patients decreased from 0.2% before the pandemic to 0.1% after the pandemic (p＜0.001). The most commonly isolated microorganism in both groups was S. aureus, followed by coagulase-negative staphylococci. The methicillin resistance rate of S. aureus increased from 34.8% to 36.4% between 2018 and 2021, although no significant association was found between the pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic.
Conclusion
This study showed that although there was no significant difference in the types of bacteria and antibiotic resistance, the age of the patients increased, and the rate of admission decreased.

Keyword

Bacterial infections; COVID-19; Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus