Scientific Reports (Apr 2023)

SARS-CoV-2 variants and mutational patterns: relationship with risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia in critically ill COVID-19 patients in the era of dexamethasone

  • Keyvan Razazi,
  • Anissa Martins Bexiga,
  • Romain Arrestier,
  • Bastien Peiffer,
  • Guillaume Voiriot,
  • Charles-Edouard Luyt,
  • Tomas Urbina,
  • Julien Mayaux,
  • Tài Pham,
  • Damien Roux,
  • Raphael Bellaiche,
  • Zakaria AIt Hamou,
  • Stéphane Gaudry,
  • Elie Azoulay,
  • Armand Mekontso Dessap,
  • Christophe Rodriguez,
  • Jean-Michel Pawlotsky,
  • Slim Fourati,
  • Nicolas de Prost

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-33639-5
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 1
pp. 1 – 6

Abstract

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Abstract We aimed to explore the relationships between specific viral mutations/mutational patterns and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) occurrence in COVID-19 patients admitted in intensive care units between October 1, 2020, and May 30, 2021. Full-length SARS-CoV-2 genomes were sequenced by means of next-generation sequencing. In this prospective multicentre cohort study, 259 patients were included. 222 patients (47%) had been infected with pre-existing ancestral variants, 116 (45%) with variant α, and 21 (8%) with other variants. 153 patients (59%) developed at least one VAP. There was no significant relationship between VAP occurrence and a specific SARS CoV-2 lineage/sublineage or mutational pattern.