Introduction: Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is a well-known complication of acute respiratory distress syndrome, the most serious manifestation of COVID-19. Four recent studies have reported its incidence among ICU COVID-19 patients. However, they do not share the same case definition, and have provided conflicting results. In this paper we have aimed at reported the incidence of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis for COVID-19 patients in our ICU, and at comparing the different definitions in order to assess their respective relevance.
Methods: Retrospective cohort study of critically ill patients with severe COVID-19 requiring ICU management between 1st March and 30th April 2020.
Results: Our results showed significantly lower incidence of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (1.8%;1/53), compared to three out of four previous studies, and wide variation in the numbers of cases with regard to the different definitions.
Conclusion: Large-scale studies are needed for a better definition and a more accurate estimation of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis coinfection during COVID-19.
Keywords: Aspergillosis; COVID-19; Coronavirus Infections/pathology; Pulmonary Aspergillosis/diagnosis.
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