Global prevalence and subgroup analyses of coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) associated Candida auris infections (CACa): A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract

Background Increased hospitalisation rates in the Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID‐19) era lead to a new wave of hospital‐acquired infections such as emerging multidrug‐resistant Candida auris. We aimed to evaluate and estimate the global prevalence of coronavirus‐associated C. auris infection (CACa). Methods We searched related databases between December 2019 and April 2022 for studies that reported data about CACa. Meta‐analysis was performed using MedCalc software version 20.104 according to the DerSimonian and Laird method applying the random‐effects model. We evaluated heterogeneity using the χ2‐based Q statistic (significant for p‐value < .1) and the I2 statistic (>75% indicative of ‘notable’ heterogeneity). Moreover, if possible, an odds ratio (OR) analysis was performed for eligible data. Results Our meta‐analysis includes ten eligible studies, including 1942 patients hospitalised with COVID‐19; 129 were C. auris cases. The overall pooled prevalence of CACa was estimated at 5.7%. The mortality rate of CACa was estimated at 67.849%. Hypertension was the most prevalent comorbidity (59.374%), followed by diabetes mellitus (52.898%) and cardiovascular diseases (31.392%). Men with a prevalence rate of 80.012% were 3.27 (OR) times more prone to getting infected by C. auris. Conclusion We concluded that the prevalence of C. auris infections decreased during the COVID‐19 pandemic and the prevalence gradient changed from Asia to America. Unfortunately, there are many descriptive studies with duplicate content in the field of epidemiology of C. auris infections which are increasing every day. We suggest further non‐descriptive studies to accurately establish the cause‐and‐effect relationships between C. auris and COVID‐19 infections.

Candida glabrata Empyema Thoracis—A Post-COVID-19 Complication

“…COVID-19 as a risk factor for invasive candidiasis has only recently emerged. A meta-analysis looking at COVID-19-associated candidiasis (CAC) found that the pooled prevalence of resistant NAC, specifically Candida auris, was 5.7% but with a mortality as high as 67% [25]. CAC can be due to two major groups of risk factors.…”

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on invasive fungal infections in Africa: What have we learned?

“…However, the health consequences of COVID-19 with IFIs superinfection have not been well understood. In resource-poor settings, COVID-19 patients are at a high risk of developing candidosis, Pneumocytis pneumonia, mould infection/pulmonary aspergillosis, and mucormycosis [ 12 , 13 ]. This risk is significantly associated with prolonged use of mechanical ventilator, underlying diabetic conditions, corticosteroid use, and damage to pulmonary epithelial cells due to severe influenza [ 10 , 11 ].…”

Drug repurposing against Candida auris: A systematic review

“…In recent years, outbreaks of C. auris have been reported in a variety of countries, including the USA, 4 UK, 5 India, 6 South Korea, 7 Europe 8 and recently in Lebanon 9 . In addition, several outbreaks of C. auris have been reported worldwide since the emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) in December 2019 9–12 . Phylogenetic analyses of C. auris isolates from around the world revealed five distinct clades.…”

“…9 In addition, several outbreaks of C. auris have been reported worldwide since the emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19) in December 2019. [9][10][11][12] Phylogenetic analyses of C. auris isolates from around the world revealed five distinct clades. These include clade I (South Asian), clade II (East Asian), clade III (South African), clade IV (South American) and the recently identified clade V (potential Iranian clade).…”