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Review
. 2021 Sep 22;9(4):65.
doi: 10.3390/diseases9040065.

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

Farah Yasmin  1 , Hala Najeeb  1 , Aisha Naeem  1 , Kartik Dapke  2 , Rachana Phadke  2 , Muhammad Sohaib Asghar  3 , Syed Muhammad Ismail Shah  4 , Domenico De Berardis  5 , Irfan Ullah  6
Affiliations
Review

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

Farah Yasmin et al. Diseases. .

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.

Keywords: COVID-19 associated Mucormycosis (CAM); black fungus; hyperglycemia; mucormycosis; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA Flow Chart.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Global distribution of COVID-19 associated mucormycosis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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