• Laleh Dehghanpisheh, Mohammadhossein Eghbal, Mehrdad Salari, Reza Shahriarirad, Niloofar Borzou, and Pooya Vatankhah.
• Anesthesiology and Critical Care Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
• Int. J. Clin. Pract. 2022 Jan 1; 2022: 12483251248325.

BackgroundRhinocerebral mucormycosis is a serious invasive fungal infection that is one of the most aggressive and lethal of invasive mycoses. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been linked to immune dysregulation, and patients with COVID-19 have been reported to be at risk for developing invasive fungal infections. This study is conducted to evaluate the concurrence of mucormycosis among COVID-19 patients.MethodsIn this retrospective, cross-sectional study, hospital records of patients with mucormycosis, as well as COVID-19 admitted to Khalili Hospital, as the major referral center for functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) in southern Iran, were collected. Demographic and clinical information was extracted and subsequently analyzed.ResultsAmong 59 mucormycosis patients undergoing FESS, 41 (69.5%) were during the COVID-19 pandemic, while 18 (30.5%) were during one year before the COVID-19 pandemic. The average age was 49.33 ± 20.52, and 64.4% had diabetes mellitus, while 62.7% had COVID-19. The most common presentation was periorbital edema (56.9%), followed by necrotic tissue (48.3%). Although the total number of cases increased during the COVID-19 period compared to the case before the pandemic, the overall pattern and features of the patients had no significant difference, except regarding a significant increase in the presentation of necrotic tissue and also the use of corticosteroids. Most cases developed mucormycosis two weeks after COVID-19. The overall mortality was 36.8%, which is not statistically associated with COVID-19.ConclusionEven in the absence of comorbidities, physicians should be aware of the risk of secondary fungal infections in patients with COVID-19 who were treated with corticosteroids.Copyright © 2022 Laleh Dehghanpisheh et al.

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