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Observational Study
. 2020 Aug;63(8):766-770.
doi: 10.1111/myc.13135. Epub 2020 Jul 18.

COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) in patients admitted with severe COVID-19 pneumonia: An observational study from Pakistan

Nosheen Nasir  1 , Joveria Farooqi  2 , Syed Faisal Mahmood  1 , Kauser Jabeen  2
Affiliations
Observational Study

COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) in patients admitted with severe COVID-19 pneumonia: An observational study from Pakistan

Nosheen Nasir et al. Mycoses. 2020 Aug.

Abstract

Background: Invasive aspergillosis is a well-known complication of severe influenza pneumonia with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). However, recent studies are reporting emergence of aspergillosis in severe COVID-19 pneumonia, named as COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA).

Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia from February 2020 to April 2020. Patients ≥18 years of age with clinical features and abnormal chest imaging with confirmed COVID-19 by RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 were included. CAPA was diagnosed based on clinical parameters, radiological findings and mycological data. Data were recorded on a structured proforma, and descriptive analysis was performed using Stata ver 12.1.

Results: A total of 147 patients with confirmed COVID-19 and 23 (15.6%) patients requiring ICU admission were identified. Aspergillus species were isolated from tracheal aspirates of nine (39.1%) patients, and of these, five patients (21.7%) were diagnosed with CAPA and four (17.4%) had Aspergillus colonisation. The mean age of patients with CAPA was 69 years (Median age: 71, IQR: 24, Range: 51-85), and 3/5 patients were male. The most frequent co-morbid was diabetes mellitus (4/5). The overall fatality rate of COVID-19 patients with aspergillosis was 44% (4/9). The cause of death was ARDS in all three patients with CAPA, and the median length of stay was 16 days (IQR: 10; Range 6-35 days).

Conclusion: This study highlights the need for comparative studies to establish whether there is an association of aspergillosis and COVID-19 and the need for screening for fungal infections in severe COVID-19 patients with certain risk factors.

Keywords: COVID-19-associated aspergillosis; ICU admission; Pakistan; invasive aspergillosis; severe COVID-19.

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Conflict of interest statement

All the authors do not have conflict of interests to declare.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Timelines for patients with severe COVID‐19 pneumonia and aspergillosis
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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