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Multicenter Study
. 2022 Jul;37(4):851-863.
doi: 10.3904/kjim.2022.069. Epub 2022 May 26.

Risk factors and clinical impact of COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis: Multicenter retrospective cohort study

Raeseok Lee  1   2 , Sung-Yeon Cho  1   2 , Dong-Gun Lee  1   2 , Hyojin Ahn  1 , Hyeah Choi  1 , Su-Mi Choi  2   3 , Jae-Ki Choi  2   4 , Jung-Hyun Choi  2   5 , Shin Young Kim  6 , Youn Jeong Kim  7 , Hyo-Jin Lee  2   8
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Risk factors and clinical impact of COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis: Multicenter retrospective cohort study

Raeseok Lee et al. Korean J Intern Med. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

Background/aims: The risk factors and clinical impacts of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) remain controversial, and no data have been reported in Korea. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiology and importance of CAPA diagnostic efforts and to identify the predictors of CAPA and the impacts on clinical outcomes.

Methods: Between January 2020 and May 2021, data of severely to critically ill COVID-19 patients were extracted from seven hospitals of the Catholic Medical Center through a clinical data warehouse. Corticosteroid use was subcategorized into total cumulative dose, early 7-day dose, mean daily dose, and duration of use.

Results: A total of 2,427 patients were screened, and 218 patients were included. CAPA was diagnosed in 4.6% (10/218) of all hospitalized and 11.2% (10/89) of intensive care unit patients. Total cumulative dose (over 1,000 mg as methylprednisolone) and daily high-dose corticosteroid use (over 60 mg/day) were independent predictors but not early 7-day high-dose corticosteroid use (over 420 mg/week) (odds ratio [OR], 1.731; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.350 to 8.571) nor prolonged use (OR, 2.794; 95% CI, 0.635 to 13.928). In-hospital overall mortality was 11.9% (26 of 218). CAPA itself did not affect the outcome; rather, daily high-dose steroid use significantly increased the 30-day mortality (hazard ratio, 5.645; 95% CI, 1.225 to 26.091).

Conclusion: CAPA was not uncommon, especially in critically ill patients. Daily high-dose corticosteroid use was the predictor of CAPA and associated with high mortality rates. High-dose corticosteroids use after early inflammatory phase should be avoided, and active surveillance methods for CAPA are essential for those high-risk patients.

Keywords: COVID-19; Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis; Mortality; Risk; Steroids.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart to identify eligible patients in this study from the clinical data warehouse (CDW). CMC, Catholic Medical Center.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Thirty-day survival for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) diagnosis.
None
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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