Study: High prevalence of Covid-linked mucormycosis in diabetes patients with history of steroid use:

A new multicenter observational research from 23 centres throughout India found a significant frequency of Covid-19 associated mucormycosis (CAM) in diabetic patients who had previously used steroids to treat the illness. Mucormycosis is a fungal illness that is spread by the inhalation of spores and can quickly spread to multiple organs.

Recently, a consortium of clinicians from various parts of India, including Fortis-C-DOC Hospital, New Delhi, Jothydev’s Diabetes Research Centre, Kerala, Jehangir Hospital, Pune, and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, studied the clinical profile of CAM. Of the 115 patients from 23 centres across India who participated in the study, 31 required intensive care and were admitted to the ICU for a week or more.

“One of the most notable findings was that 71.3% had pre-existing diabetes and 13.9% had newly detected diabetes. So, 85.2% had diabetes,” Dr Jothydev Kesavadev, Managing Director, Jothydev’s Diabetes Research Centers, Kerala and one of the authors of the study, said. The study has recently been published in Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research and Reviews.

“Mucormycosis, though described as a complication of Covid-19, has been reported the most from India. This is possibly explained by high prevalence of diabetes in India, in which the country is second only to China,” a researcher said.