Understanding clinical outcomes and factors influencing mortality in intensive care unit patients with COVID-19-associated candidemia.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID pandemic, research has shown an increase in candidemia cases following severe COVID infection and the identification of risk factors associated with candidemia. However, there is a lack of studies that specifically explore clinical outcomes and mortality rates related to candidemia after COVID infection. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this international study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes and identify factors influencing mortality in patients who developed candidemia during their COVID infection. PATIENTS/METHODS: This study included adult patients (18 years of age or older) admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and diagnosed with COVID-associated candidemia (CAC). The research was conducted through ID-IRI network and in collaboration with 34 medical centres across 18 countries retrospectively, spanning from the beginning of the COVID pandemic until December 2021. RESULTS: A total of 293 patients diagnosed with CAC were included. The median age of the patients was 67, and 63% of them were male. The most common Candida species detected was C. albicans. The crude 30-day mortality rate was recorded at 62.4%. The logistic regression analysis identified several factors significantly impacting mortality, including age (odds ratio [OR] 1.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02-1.07, p < .0005), SOFA score (OR 1.307, 95% CI 1.17-1.45, p < .0005), invasive mechanical ventilation (OR 7.95, 95% CI 1.44-43.83, p < .017) and duration of mechanical ventilation (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.96-0.99, p < .020). CONCLUSIONS: By recognising these prognostic factors, medical professionals can customise their treatment approaches to offer more targeted care, leading to improved patient outcomes and higher survival rates for individuals with COVID-associated candidemia.

A brief report: Cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea after repetitive nasal swab testing for coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19).

For the past year, COVID-19 Pandemic has been the biggest focal point of medicine. Due to its novelty and its highly infectious nature, the impact of Sars-Cov-2 on society has been growing rapidly. The primary route for prevention of this highly infectious virus is detection. The detection methods for Sars-Cov-2 include nasal swab tests, saliva samplings and antibody tests. The main preferred method has been the RT-PCR with Nasal Swab sampling which is performed on the nasopharyngeal region. However, the nasal swab testing may come with its own iatrogenic outcomes due to its invasiveness. In this report, we describe a rare case of iatrogenic unilateral cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea which occurred due to repetitive nasal swab testing for COVID-19.