Putative invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in critically ill patients with COVID‐19: An observational study from New York City

Mitaka, Hayato; Perlman, David C.; Javaid, Waleed; Salomon, Nadim

BACKGROUND: Critically ill patients with coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) are at the theoretical risk of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) due to known risk factors. PATIENTS/METHODS: We aimed to describe the clinical features of COVID‐19‐associated pulmonary aspergillosis at a single centre in New York City. We performed a retrospective chart review of all patients with COVID‐19 with Aspergillus isolated from respiratory cultures. RESULTS: A total of seven patients with COVID‐19 who had one or more positive respiratory cultures for Aspergillus fumigatus were identified, all of whom were mechanically ventilated in the ICU. Four patients were classified as putative IPA. The median age was 79 years, and all patients were male. The patients had been mechanically ventilated for a mean of 6.8 days (range: 1‐14 days) before Aspergillus isolation. Serum galactomannan level was positive for only one patient. The majority of our cases received much higher doses of glucocorticoids than the dosage with a proven mortality benefit. All four patients died. CONCLUSIONS: Vigilance for secondary fungal infections will be needed to reduce adverse outcomes in critically ill patients with COVID‐19.