Study assesses link between secondary bloodstream infection and severe COVID-19 People with severe COVID-19 and a secondary blood infection were significantly sicker upon hospital admission, had longer hospital stays and poorer outcomes, according to a Rutgers study. The study, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, is the first to assess the microbiology, risk factors and outcomes in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 and secondary bloodstream infections. The researchers looked at 375 patients diagnosed with severe COVID-19 from March to May 2020. Of that group, they sampled 128 cases who had secondary bloodstream infections, 92 percent of which were bacterial infections. These patients were more likely to have altered mental status, lower percent oxygen saturation, septic shock and to be admitted to the intensive care unit compared to those without bloodstream infections."