Serum iron indices in COVID-19-associated mucormycosis: A case-control study.
Mycoses
; 65(1): 120-127, 2022 Jan.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1501485
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Whether dysregulated iron metabolism is associated with COVID-19-associated mucormycosis (CAM) remains unknown. Herein, we compare the serum iron indices in COVID-19 subjects with and without mucormycosis.METHODS:
We conducted a case-control study enrolling COVID-19 participants with and without mucormycosis. We compared the baseline serum iron indices (iron, ferritin, total iron-binding capacity [TIBC], unsaturated iron-binding capacity and percentage transferrin saturation) between CAM cases and COVID-19 controls. Additionally, we performed a multivariate logistic regression analysis to assess whether any iron indices are associated with CAM.RESULTS:
We enrolled 28 CAM cases (mean age 53.6 years old; 78.6% men) and 26 controls (mean age 57.2 years old; 73.1% men). Rhino-orbital (±cerebral) mucormycosis (85.7%) was the most clinical presentation. Diabetes mellitus was more frequent in the cases than controls (75% vs. 42.3%; p = .015). Hypoxaemia during COVID-19 illness was more common in controls than cases. The mean serum iron values (33 vs. 45 µg/dl, p = .03) and TIBC (166.6 vs. 201.6 µg/dl, p = .003) were significantly lower in CAM cases than controls. On multivariate analysis, we found a lower TIBC (odds ratio [OR] 0.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.95-0.99) and diabetes mellitus (OR 5.23; 95% CI, 1.21-22.68) to be independently associated with CAM after adjusting for serum iron, ferritin and glucocorticoid therapy. The case fatality rate of CAM was 73.9%. The iron indices were not significantly different between CAM survivors and non-survivors.CONCLUSIONS:
The CAM is associated with lower TIBC levels than COVID-19 subjects without mucormycosis, suggesting dysregulated iron metabolism in its pathogenesis. Further studies are required to confirm our preliminary observations.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Ferritins
/
COVID-19
/
Iron
/
Mucormycosis
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
English
Journal:
Mycoses
Journal subject:
Microbiology
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Myc.13391
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