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. 2022 Jun;11(6):2573-2580.
doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1934_21. Epub 2022 Jun 30.

A systematic review of mucormycosis cases in COVID-19: Is it an unholy trilogy of COVID-19, diabetes mellitus, and corticosteroids?

Rajesh Kumar  1 , Arup Kumar Misra  2 , Siddhartha Dutta  3 , Ajay Gupta  4 , Bharat Kumar  5 , Jaykaran Charan  6
Affiliations

A systematic review of mucormycosis cases in COVID-19: Is it an unholy trilogy of COVID-19, diabetes mellitus, and corticosteroids?

Rajesh Kumar et al. J Family Med Prim Care. 2022 Jun.

Abstract

Background: A significant surge of cases of mucormycosis is seen in individuals with COVID-19 with presence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and usage of corticosteroids. We aim to conduct a systematic analysis of the cases involving presence of mucormycosis and to find out its association with COVID-19, diabetes mellitus, and corticosteroids.

Method: The electronic records of PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct were searched for the case reports and case series that reported mucormycosis in association of COVID-19. The particulars of each case report and case series were retrieved, stored and analyzed.

Results: In this study, 476 cases of mucormycosis were reported. In 346 cases of mucormycosis, the patients were found to be COVID-19 positive. The incidence of diabetes Mellitus (DM) was 67.01%. Corticosteroid was administered in 57.77% of the cases. Mortality was reported in 36.34% of the cases.

Conclusion: An immunosuppressive environment created due to the COVID-19, diabetes mellitus, and extensive use of corticosteroid provide a suitable background for the increased incidence of mucormycosis. The COVID task force should adopt an aggressive multidisciplinary approach to optimize the use of corticosteroids and maintain glucose in the optimal range.

Keywords: COVID-19; Corticosteroids; SARS-CoV-2; diabetes mellitus; mucormycosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow chart of study selection for systematic review
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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