P327 Prevalence of orofacial Mycoses in COVID-19patients: experience from a tertiary care center in Northern India

POSTER SESSION 3, SEPTEMBER 23, 2022, 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM: OBJECTIVE: Due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a new group of patients at risk emerged with COVID-19-associated mycoses (CAM). The studies, evaluating the prevalence of CAM are missing in India. METHOD: To assess CAM prevalence in a tertiary care hospital in India, we applied direct microscopy, fungal culture, and histopathology on respiratory specimens of 285 critically ill COVID-19 patients admitted between September 2020 and March 2022. RESULT: Among the 285 patients, 187 were male, and 98 were female. A total of 34.03% had mucor (33.01% Rhizopus arrhizus;1.02% R. microsporus), 59.51% had Aspergillus (50% Aspergillus flavus; 41.17% A. fumigatus; 2.94% A. terreus; 2.35% A. niger), 3.04% had both (Rhizopus arrhizus + Aspergillus flavus), and 3.01% (Schizophyllum sps 5; Fusarium 1, Paecilomyces variotii 1) had other types of mycosis on fungal smear and culture. CONCLUSION: Consistent with others, our findings underline the importance of microbiological/pathological assessment in patients with predispositions for COVID-19-associated mycoses but due to the low prevalence, a routine screening seems not to be indicated currently. However, multicenter studies are desirable for substantiation of findings. A high index of clinical suspicion, diagnosis at an early stage, and use of antifungal agents are essential for a successful outcome.