Vural Camalan Burcu, Badir Naciye, Doluoglu Sumeyra, Ozturk Onural
Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, University of Health Sciences Ankara Etlik City Hospital, Ankara, TUR.
Department of Medical Microbiology, Simav Doc. Dr. Ismail Karakuyu State Hospital, Kutahya, TUR.
Cureus. 2025 Jul 2;17(7):e87149. doi: 10.7759/cureus.87149. eCollection 2025 Jul.
This exploratory study aimed to determine the nasopharyngeal carriage rate of and to characterize the distribution of other culturable bacterial species in patients with COVID-19. Additionally, we assessed whether bacterial growth patterns differed between patients with and without lung involvement.
Nasopharyngeal samples were collected from COVID-19 patients with and without lung involvement, as assessed by thoracic CT scans. The study also included PCR-negative control patients. Sampling occurred between January and March 2021 at a state hospital outpatient clinic. A total of 65 participants were included in the study: 51 (78.5%) tested positive for COVID-19, of whom 25 (49.0%) had lung involvement and 26 (51.0%) did not. The remaining 14 (21.5%) served as PCR-negative controls.
was isolated in 11 (21.6%) of COVID-19-positive patients and 5 (35.7%) of controls. Among COVID-19 patients, the isolation rate was 6 (24.0%) in those with lung involvement and 5 (19.2%) in those without. No statistically significant differences were observed in carriage or in the overall bacterial profiles across the groups.
Nasopharyngeal colonization and bacterial distribution showed no significant association with COVID-19 status or lung involvement. Although colonization is common, its clinical relevance in early-stage COVID-19 remains unclear and warrants further study.
本探索性研究旨在确定新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）患者的鼻咽部携带率，并对其他可培养细菌种类的分布进行特征描述。此外，我们评估了有无肺部受累的患者之间细菌生长模式是否存在差异。
通过胸部CT扫描评估，从有或无肺部受累的COVID-19患者中采集鼻咽部样本。该研究还纳入了PCR检测阴性的对照患者。样本采集于2021年1月至3月在一家州立医院门诊进行。共有65名参与者纳入研究：51名（78.5%）COVID-19检测呈阳性，其中25名（49.0%）有肺部受累，26名（51.0%）无肺部受累。其余14名（21.5%）作为PCR检测阴性对照。
在COVID-19阳性患者中有11名（21.6%）分离出[具体细菌名称未给出]，在对照中有5名（35.7%）分离出。在COVID-19患者中，有肺部受累者的分离率为6名（24.0%），无肺部受累者为5名（19.2%）。各组之间在[具体细菌名称未给出]携带情况或总体细菌谱方面未观察到统计学上的显著差异。
鼻咽部定植和细菌分布与COVID-19状态或肺部受累无显著关联。虽然定植很常见，但其在COVID-19早期阶段的临床相关性仍不清楚，值得进一步研究。
