Risk Factors for Mucormycosis in COVID-19 Patients

Abstract

: Opportunistic infections, such as mucormycosis, in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients has become a new health challenge. Since opportunistic infections can exacerbate COVID-19 patients' status, it is vital to identify the risk factors to prevent, diagnose, and treat them as soon as possible. Viral, fungal, environmental, and host factors may be responsible for this situation. Long hospital stays, impaired host immune system function due to viral infection, and excessive consumption of glucocorticoids in managing COVID-19 patients are the main risk factors for the increased risk of mucormycosis in COVID-19 patients. Educating health care workers and considering the association between mucormycosis of the paranasal sinuses and different strains of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as the cause of COVID-19 can help prevent invasive fungal sinusitis in COVID-19 patients.