Ezeokoli, Obinna T.Gcilitshana, OnelePohl, Carolina H.2021-08-172021-08-172021Ezeokoli, O. T., Gcilitshana, O., & Pohl, C. H. (2021). Risk factors for fungal co-infections in critically ill COVID-19 patients, with a focus on immunosuppressants. Journal of Fungi, 7, 545. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof70705452309-608X (online)http://hdl.handle.net/11660/11243Severe cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) managed in the intensive care unit are prone to complications, including secondary infections with opportunistic fungal pathogens. Systemic fungal co-infections in hospitalized COVID-19 patients may exacerbate COVID-19 disease severity, hamper treatment effectiveness and increase mortality. Here, we reiterate the role of fungal co-infections in exacerbating COVID-19 disease severity as well as highlight emerging trends related to fungal disease burden in COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, we provide perspectives on the risk factors for fungal co-infections in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and highlight the potential role of prolonged immunomodulatory treatments in driving fungal co-infections, including COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA), COVID-19-associated candidiasis (CAC) and mucormycosis. We reiterate the need for early diagnosis of suspected COVID-19-associated systemic mycoses in the hospital setting.enCOVID-19Fungal co-infectionsCorticosteroid treatmentCOVID-19-associated candidiasisCOVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosisMucormycosisArticleAuthor(s)This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)