ANALYSIS OF THE SPECTRUM OF RESPIRATORY TRACT MICROFLORA IN PATIENTS WITH RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS FOR 2018-2023

The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly affected the spectrum of microorganisms, their resistance to antibiotics, the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains and the increased consumption of antibiotics by patients with COVID-19 in hospitals. The data from the world and national literature on the dynamics of the respiratory microflora in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic are currently incomplete and contradictory. The purpose of the study is to analyse the spectrum of patients' respiratory tract microflora in the dynamics for the period 2018-2023. A retrospective analysis of the results of microbiological monitoring of microorganisms isolated from biomaterials from 2770 patients with acute respiratory diseases for the period from 2018 to 2023 was conducted based on the data obtained from the Poltava Regional Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital of the Poltava Regional Council. It was found out that in the period before the 2018-2019 pandemic, coccal microflora represented by S. aureus, S. pneumoniae, S. haemolyticus, S. Agalacticae, was predominantly recorded among the isolated pathogens. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2023, the spectrum of pathogens changed and was characterised by an increase in the proportion of C. albicans, Enterococcus spp., and K. pneumoniae. When comparing the 2020-2021 pandemic period, which was characterised by the irrational use of antimicrobials, with the period of 2022-2023, when antibiotics began to be used more moderately, differences were also identified in the microbial landscape. In 2022-2023, compared to 2020-2021, there was again a trend towards an increase in coccal microflora, in particular S. aureus, S. pyogenes and Enterococcus spp. and Acinetobacter, and a decrease in the proportion of C. albicans and S. haemolyticus. Thus, prior to the 2018-2019 pandemic, coccal microflora (S. aureus, S. pneumoniae, S. haemolyticus, S. agalacticae) dominated among the isolated pathogens. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2023, there was a change in the spectrum of pathogens with an increase in the proportion of fungal and hospital-acquired microflora (C. albicans, Enterococcus spp. and K. pneumoniae). When analyzing the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was revealed that in 2022-2023, compared to 2020-2021, there was a tendency towards an increase in the coccal microflora (S. aureus, S. pyogenes and Enterococcus spp., Acinetobacter) and decrease in the proportion of pathogens C. albicans and S. haemolyticus.