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COVID-19 associated Mucormycosis among ICU patients: risk factors, control, and challenges

Research Authors
Rehab Mahmoud Abd El-Baky, Esraa R Shady, Ramadan Yahia, Fatma Y Ahmed, Mohamed Ramadan, Hala Rady Ahmed, Israa MS Al-Kadmy, Yasmin N Ramadan, Helal F Hetta
Research Date
Research Journal
AMB Express
Research Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Research Rank
Q1
Research Vol
13
Research Website
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13568-023-01599-8
Research Year
2023
Research Member
Research Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic is still difficult to be controlled. The spread of this virus and the emergence of new variants are considered a great challenge worldwide. Disturbance in infection control guidelines implementation, use of steroids, antibiotics, hospital crowdedness, and repeated use of oxygen masks during the management of critically ill COVID-19 patients lead to an increase in the rate of opportunistic infections. So, patients need to fight both the virus with its different variants and opportunistic pathogens including bacteria and fungi especially patients with diabetes mellitus, malignancy, or those who undergo hemodialysis and receive deferoxamine. During the pandemic, many cases of Mucormycosis associated with COVID-19 infection were observed in many countries. In this review, we discuss risk factors that increase the chance of infection by opportunistic pathogens, especially fungal pathogens, recent challenges, and control measures.