Mucormycosis diagnosis revisited: Current and emerging diagnostic methodologies for the invasive fungal infection (Review).

Mucormycosis, which is a life threatening condition, is one of the side effects experienced by post-COVID-19 patients. Early identification and timely treatment are essential to stop the dissemination of the disease, since invasive mucormycosis has a very high fatality rate and significant disease dispersion. Conventional diagnostic techniques, including clinical diagnosis, serology, histopathology and radiology, have limitations in diagnosing the disease at an early stage. This warrants the need for advanced diagnostic tools such as nucleic acid diagnostics, advanced serological tests (ELISpot), PCR (pan-Mucorale test) and multiplex PCR. These techniques have been introduced to identify this invasive fungal infection at an incipient stage, thereby helping clinicians to prevent adverse outcomes. The use of biosensors and micro-needle based diagnostic methodologies will pave the way for devising more point-of-care tests that can be employed for the detection of mucormycosis at an incipient stage. The present review discusses the current techniques available and their drawbacks, and the usefulness of advanced diagnostic tools. Furthermore, the possibility of using future diagnostic methods for the diagnosis of mucormycosis is highlighted.

Rationale for anxiety associated with dental visits during the COVID-19 pandemic among the general public - an observational study.

BACKGROUND: The effect of COVID-19 on various facets such as physical, psychological, financial, social, and so on has been investigated extensively. However, the wariness influencing the decision to visit the dentist during this pandemic has received relatively little attention in Indian scenario. The study sought to investigate the general public's anxiety regarding visiting a dentist during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the factors that possibly contribute towards this apprehension among Indian nationals. METHODS: Structured questionnaire based cross sectional observational study. Completed responses were received from 259 individuals. Information was collected on demographic details, medical history, history of COVID-19 infection, history of dental problems, anxiety associated with dental visit and reason for dental visit during the pandemic, whether vaccinated and expecting the dentist to be vaccinated. Apprehension or concerns regarding dental visits were acquired via nine closed-ended questions with dichotomous responses. RESULTS: During the pandemic, 25.9% had dental problems, 24.7% visited the dentist and 81% were anxious about dental visits. 72.6% were concerned about contracting infection from the clinic, 81.5% were concerned about contracting infection in the waiting area, and 87.3% were concerned about whether the clinicians/assistants would meticulously follow standard operating protocols, 88% were concerned about disinfection between patients and 75.7% expressed concern on higher treatment charges due to the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: The general public is concerned about disease transmission in the dentist's office and increased treatment costs, both of which could have a negative impact on the use of dental services during this COVID-19 pandemic.