CDC experts also found that patients admitted with COVID-19-associated fungal infections are more likely to be in Hispanic men around 63 years old on average. Individuals who were hospitalized with a COVID-19-associated fungal infection were also more likely to experience an ICU admission, longer hospital stays, invasive medical ventilation, or death compared to individuals who had a fungal infection not related to COVID-19.
“Our analysis underscores the substantial burden of patient hospitalizations with fungal infections in the United States and indicates that increased hospitalizations involving fungal infections occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic,” researchers wrote. “As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, and to increase preparedness for future infectious diseases outbreaks, comprehensive public health surveillance for fungal diseases is needed to characterize disease epidemiology and guide efforts to prevent illness and death.”
To understand the extent of the weight COVID-19-associated fungal infections have had on the hospital system in the U.S. and on patients, researchers analyzed records from a large database and looked at corresponding code diagnoses for patient cases. Though, they do note that one limitation in the study was that, “codes might be associated with underreporting, misclassification, and nonspecific coding of pathogenic fungi, particularly those causing candidemia and invasive mold disease.”
They also note that these trends are broad and could be over-representative of certain populations in some regions.
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