Prevalence, distribution and correlates of pain in patients with mucormycosis-A cross-sectional study

CONTEXT: COVID-19 has led to a spate of rhino-orbital-cerebral mucormycosis cases in India, the epidemiology of which was least understood before. Only a few case series and case reports discuss the symptomatology of mucormycosis. AIMS: The primary objective of our study was to estimate the prevalence of pain in patients with mucormycosis. The secondary objectives include the type, regional distribution, characteristics and determinants of pain in patients with mucormycosis. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted on consecutive adult patients with mucormycosis in our hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Following recruitment, a preplanned written questionnaire that was tested for validity with peers, with closed-ended queries was filled on a sole visit by an anesthesia postgraduate based on the response by the patient. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Categorical variables were summarized as proportion and percentage. To compare quantitative variables, Chi-square test was used. RESULTS: A total of 69 out of the 80 patients recruited complained of pain (P value = 0.468). A total of 76.8% of patients had pain in the supraorbital region with 84% of the patients complaining of throbbing pain and 98.6% needing analgesics. Gender, pre-existing diabetes mellitus, organs affected due to mucormycosis, prior steroid usage, prior COVID illness, surgical intervention, and previous experience of pain in the same region had no influence on the presence or severity of pain. CONCLUSIONS: Pain is one of the presenting symptoms in patients with mucormycosis which is usually in the supraorbital and maxillary region, nociceptive type and throbbing in nature, and moderate to severe in intensity usually managed with simple analgesics.