A hospital based observational study of clinical spectrum and outcome of mucormycosis during the COVID pandemic

ABSTRACT

Background: Mucormycosis is a life threatening fungal disease caused by the filamentous fungi mucormycetes. Though a known entity for decades, it began to manifest in an unprecedented manner in the COVID scenario specially with the second wave in India. The objectives were to describe the demographic characteristics, clinical presentations, risk factors, therapy and in-hospital mortality of patients with Mucormycosis. Material and Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study for a period of six months from March 2021 to August 2021. The data was collected for cases of mucormycosis from multiple centres all over West Bengal and analysed. All consecutive individuals with confirmed mucormycosis were enrolled in this study. The data documenting demographic particulars, presentation, predisposing factors and comorbiditieswere recorded in a pre validated case report form Details of investigation recording site and extent of disease, therapeutic intervention and outcome was mentioned . Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 21.0 for MS-Windows. Results: The total number of cases from March to August 2021 was 263 . There were 171 males and 92 females and the mean age of occurrence was 50.8+or-0.4 years .In West Bengal clusters of cases were being reported most commonly from the districts of North 24 Parganas, Kolkata, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling and Hooghly. Some cases admitted here hailed from outside states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Assam. The majority of the cases 74.22% (196)were COVID Associated Mucormycosis (CAM) while only 25.78% were non COVID associated. Diabetes mellitus was associated in 78.7% and history of prolonged steroid therapy in 57.4% of cases. We encountered rhino orbital mucormycosis in 99.24% of cases and cerebral involvement in 47.3%. They were treated with Amphotericin B deoxycholate along with endoscopic debridement. The most common side effects of Amphotericin B Deoxycholate were hypokalemia (93%), hypomagnesemia (32%) and AKI (74%) of the cases . The number of patients discharged was 16.7% and 10 left against medical advice (LAMA) . In hospital deaths were recorded to be 26.7%. Cause of death was commonly -AKI, septic shock and multiorgan failure . Conclusion: Prevention is better than cure of this devastating disease which is difficult todiagnose and treat . Awareness about mucormycosis and careful clinical evaluation of post-COVID patients is mandatory in this era in order to rapidly diagnose and treat mucormycosis.