Post-acute COVID-19 associated with evidence of bystander T-cell activation and a recurring antibiotic-resistant bacterial pneumonia.
Michaela GregorovaDaniel MorseTarcisio BrignoliJoseph SteventonFergus HamiltonMahableswhar AlburDavid T ArnoldMatthew ThomasAlice HallidayHolly BaumChristopher RiceMatthew B AvisonAndrew D DavidsonMarianna SantopaoloElizabeth OliverAnu GoenkaAdam FinnLinda WooldridgeBorko AmulicRosemary J BoytonDaniel M AltmannDavid K ButlerClaire McMurrayJoanna StocktonSam NichollsCharles CooperNicholas LomanMichael J CoxLaura RivinoRuth C MasseyPublished in: eLife (2020)
Here, we describe the case of a COVID-19 patient who developed recurring ventilator-associated pneumonia caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa that acquired increasing levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in response to treatment. Metagenomic analysis revealed the AMR genotype, while immunological analysis revealed massive and escalating levels of T-cell activation. These were both SARS-CoV-2 and P. aeruginosa specific, and bystander activated, which may have contributed to this patient's persistent symptoms and radiological changes.