COVID-19 Associated Mucormycosis: A Systematic Review from Diagnostic Challenges to Management.

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has caused significant destruction, claiming over three million lives worldwide. Post SARS-COV-2 invasion, immunosuppression with hyperglycemia and elevated ferritin levels along with steroidal treatment creates a perfect storm for opportunistic infections. There is increasing evidence of mucormycosis co-infection in COVID-19 patients, during or post-treatment. A worse prognosis, a late diagnosis, and limited guidelines of screening and management of COVID-19 associated mucormycosis have made healthcare professionals fear an epidemic alongside a pandemic. This review geographically reports cases of COVID-19 associated mucormycosis (CAM), evaluates characteristics, clinical manifestations, and outcomes of mucormycosis in COVID-19 active or recovered patients. It further describes preventive strategies and recommendations for optimal management therapy that can be adopted worldwide to curtail an impending threat to the healthcare system.

• Authors: Farah Yasmin, Hala Najeeb, Aisha Naeem, Kartik Dapke, Rachana Phadke, Muhammad Sohaib Asghar, Syed Muhammad Ismail Shah, Domenico De Berardis, Irfan Ullah
• Journal: Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) (Diseases) Vol. 9 Issue 4 (Sep 22 2021) ISSN: 2079-9721 [Print] Switzerland
• PMID: 34698143 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)