Practice Guideline on Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Rhino-Orbito-Cerebral Mucormycosis in the COVID-19 Area: A Consensus of Iranian Experts

Abstract

Context: The current pandemic of COVID-19 affected all people of the world. Evidence Acquisition: Most complications of SARS-CoV-2 are causally related to severe pneumonia due to host immune response in the form of a cytokine storm. The other causes of an increased mortality rate among COVID-19 patients are secondary infections. Results: Mucormycosis is a life-threatening infection that gained much attention in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A rise in the frequency of COVID-19-associated mucormycosis (CAM) occurred in 2020 and 2021. Overall, mortality of CAM has been reported as 54% - 75%. Conclusions: Although awareness of the disease has increased among treating physicians, disease-associated morbidity and mortality are still high. The guideline is intended to serve as a reference to prevent mucormycosis in COVID-19 patients and help healthcare providers choose diagnostic and treatment methods for the management of CAM cases.