COVID-19 and Mucormycosis: The Double Edge Sword
- Siddheesh Rajpurohit,
- Annam Prathiba,
- Kangan Ghadiali,
- Kanav Khera,
- Sheetal Chauhan,
- Ajit Singh
Siddheesh Rajpurohit
Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Corresponding Author:siddheeshrajpurohit@gmail.com
Author ProfileAbstract
Background and aim India has declared mucormycosis as an epidemic. The
incidence rate is rising day by day as there are more than 29000 cases
in 28 states until March 2021. COVID-19 is already burdening the health
care system, and post-COVID mucormycosis leads to mortality and
morbidity in patients treated with COVID-19. This article aims to
understand the various complications of mucormycosis and how it is
impacting COVID-19 infected patients. Methods A thorough literature
search was performed using PubMed, Google Scholar, and Embase from May
2021 to June 2021. The authors selected the articles based on relevance.
Mucormycosis, black fungus, fungal infection, COVID-19, pathogenesis,
corticosteroids, treatment, antifungals were the major keywords
searched. Secondary resources included from the published news articles.
Results Through the literature, we observed that patients after COVID-19
are more vulnerable to these fungal infections, especially
immunocompromised patients, patients with long-term steroid use, and
uncontrolled diabetes. This review enlightens the manifestations,
pathogenesis, and various treatment and anticipation policies for
mucormycosis. Conclusion Awareness about the possibility of the disease
is necessary to reduce the delay of diagnosis and timely treatment to
prevent further implications of the disease. In addition, prevention of
the disease with strict follow-up measures with sanitation and hygiene
maintenance is also essential.