Original Article

Mucormycosis, New Causative Agents, and New Susceptible Populations: Review of Cases in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Iran (2007-2021)

Abstract

Background: Mucormycosis is an aggressive opportunistic fungal infection that afflicts patients with severe underlying immunosuppression, uncontrolled hyperglycemia and/or ketoacidosis, iron overload, and occasionally healthy patients who are inoculated with fungal spores through traumatic injuries. The epidemiology of mucormycosis has changed after the COVID-19 pandemic, with mucormycosis becoming the most common and the fatal coinfection

Methods: In a retrospective, cross-sectional study, 82 hospitalized patients with a definite diagnosis of mucormycosis were reported from 2007 to 2021 in a referral, tertiary care center in Tehran, Iran

Results: The number of post-COVID cases increased 4.6 times per year, with 41.5% of patients admitted during the two years of the pandemic. Mucormycosis was more common in women (57.3%), and the most common underlying diseases were diabetes (43.7%), both COVID-19 and diabetes (23.2%), cancer (11%), rheumatic diseases (7.3%), COVID-19 without other underlying diseases (6.1%), and transplantation (4.9%). Rhino-orbito-cerebral Mucormycosis (54.9%) followed by Sino-orbital infection (23.2%) was the most common presentation. There was a significant relationship between the use of immunosuppressive agents and the development of Mucormycosis (P<0.005) The average mortality was 41.5%, but this ratio decreased to 35% during the pandemic era.

Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic caused a 4.6-fold increase in the number of mucormycosis patients, and there was a significant relationship between hyperglycemia, corticosteroid use, and mucormycosis. The death rate during the COVID-19 pandemic has decreased by 6.5%, and during the COVID period, the interval between the arrival of a patient with mucormycosis and the start of the correct treatment was significantly decreased.

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IssueVol 52 No 11 (2023) QRcode
SectionOriginal Article(s)
DOI https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v52i11.14046
Keywords
Mucormycosis Epidemiology Diabetes mellitus Corticosteroids COVID-19

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How to Cite
1.
Alavi Darazam I, Babamahmoodi A, Ebrahimi MJ, Moafi M, Akbari Dilmaghani N, Mardani M, Shokouhi S, Javandoust Gharehbagh F, Mahmoudi Chalmiani E, Shabani M, Bidari F, Jamali E, Khoshsirat S, Shahriari M, Sabeti S, Rahmani Z, Ali Mousavinejad S, Ebrahimzadeh K, Hallajnejad M. Mucormycosis, New Causative Agents, and New Susceptible Populations: Review of Cases in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Iran (2007-2021). Iran J Public Health. 2023;52(11):2467-2473.