Is mucormycosis an addition to the pandemic spectrum: An observational study

Abstract

<p><strong>Abstract:</strong></p>
 <p><strong>Introduction and Objective:</strong><br />A concerning increase in occurrences of mucormycosis, known as COVID-19 Associated Mucormycosis (CAM), has been reported worldwide in people who are coping with COVID-19. The exact relationship between mucormycosis and COVID-19 is yet unknown, despite this apparent correlation. In order to ascertain the degree to which mucormycosis and coronavirus illness are associated, this study aims to clarify the nature of this association.<br /><br /><strong>Method:</strong></p>
 <p>This study, which was an observational one, examined 35 individuals who had been diagnosed with mucormycosis. At Lahore General Hospital in Lahore, the ENT Department conducted this study to thoroughly evaluate the relationship between mucormycosis and coronavirus disease, patient demographics, such as age, gender, COVID-19 status, and co-morbidities, were carefully documented.</p>
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 <p><strong>Results:</strong></p>
 <p>The majority of the patients (54.3%) were male, and the average age of those enrolled in the study was 49.40 ± 13.511 years. Of the patients, 25.7% had confirmed COVID-19 positive. Notably, diabetes mellitus was the predominant co-morbidity in a significant proportion of patients (74.3%), followed by DM/CKD (11.4%), DM/CLD (8.6%), and DM/HTN (5.7%). The findings of the statistical analysis showed that co-morbidities and COVID-19 were significantly correlated (P<0.05) in mucormycosis patients, whereas age and gender were not significantly correlate (P>0.05).<br /><br /></p>
 <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong><br />In summary, this study suggests that mucormycosis could be an additional aspect of the pandemic's spectrum. The data from our study supports this claim, since a significant percentage (25.7%) of patients with mucormycosis also had a COVID-19 diagnosis concomitantly. The significance of more research and increased awareness about the co-occurrence of COVID-19 and mucormycosis in clinical settings is highlighted by this study. <br /><br /></p>