Post-COVID Mucormycosis-Conceptual Etiology and New Treatment Options

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused a massive pandemic in world. It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and is also a doorway for other opportunistic bacterial and fungal infections. Mucormycosis is strongly connected with patients suffering from COVID-19 disease. The major factors attributed are steroid induced immunosuppression; systemic disorders especially diabetes mellitus, hypoxia, and metabolic acidosis.

Unusual presentations of post-COVID mucormycosis in young patients without diabetes mellitus were observed. The new concept focuses on pathophysiology of the post-COVID mucormycosis which might involve other factors of coagulopathy and microembolism of vessels which provides a niche for fungal infection to invade in patients.

The new concept of treating post Covid mucormycosis by combining the anti-fungal drugs along with fibrinolytic agents reduces the microcoagulopathy, increases the recovery rate and healing of the mucormycosis.

Based on the clinical and application of scientific knowledge, this concept paper focuses on new hypothesis and treatment plans of post-COVID mucormycosis and an attempt to explain the difference between conventional mucormycosis and post-COVID mucormycosis.