COVID-related mucormycosis
Reviewed by Rina Bhatt

The authors report a retrospective case-control study of 73 patients with COVID-19 associated mucormycosis (CAM) between 1st March and 30th May 2021. They compared various factors between the two groups – patients who survived CAM (47 [64%]) and those that died (26 [36%]). Those that died had more severe COVID with a high need for assisted ventilation, longer duration of supplemental oxygen and higher proportion of uncontrolled diabetes. The cumulative probability of death for both groups was 26% at day 7, 42% at day 14 and 53% at day 21. This is significantly higher in other published studies. Interestingly, the authors found that intravenous amphotericin reduced the need for exenteration but did not significantly reduce mortality. Functional endoscopic sinus surgery was performed in only 35% of their patients, owing to equipment and personnel shortage, and this may have contributed to higher mortality rates.

Cumulative mortality and factors associated with outcomes of mucormycosis after COVID-19 at a multispecialty tertiary care center in India.
Choksi T, Agrawal A, Date P, et al.
JAMA OPHTHALMOLOGY
2022;140(1):66-72.