Prevalence of COVID-19 Associated Mucormycosis in a German Tertiary Care Hospital

Due to Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a new group of patients at risk emerged with COVID-19-associated mucormycosis (CAM). Systematic studies, evaluating the prevalence of CAM are missing. To assess CAM prevalence in a tertiary care hospital in Germany, we applied direct microscopy, fungal culture and quantitative realtime in-house PCR targeting Mucorales-specific fragments of 18S and 28S rRNA on respiratory specimens of 100 critically ill COVID-19 patients. Overall, one Mucorales-PCR positive bronchoalevolar lavage was found whereas direct microscopy and fungal culture were negative in all cases. We conclude that a routine screening for CAM in Germany is not indicated.

Automated summary

This study aimed to assess the prevalence of COVID-19-associated mucormycosis (CAM) in critically ill COVID-19 patients in a tertiary care hospital in Germany using direct microscopy, fungal culture, and PCR. One Mucorales-PCR positive result was found in bronchoalveolar lavage, while direct microscopy and fungal culture were negative in all cases. The conclusion was that routine screening for CAM in Germany is not necessary.