An examination of a large healthcare database in the United States revealed a significant rise in hospitalization rates related to fungal infections between 2019 and 2021.

This increase was primarily driven by hospitalizations of individuals with fungal infections associated with COVID-19.

From 2020 to 2021, approximately 13.4% of all fungal-related hospitalizations were linked to COVID-19.

Furthermore, patients with COVID-19-related fungal infections had roughly twice the rate of ICU admissions and four times the rate of in-hospital deaths compared to those without COVID-19.

The types of fungal infections most commonly observed in COVID-19 patients align with national mortality data and are predominantly invasive candidiasis and aspergillosis.

Additionally, these hospitalizations disproportionately affected non-White male patients in the western United States, indicating racial or ethnic disparities.

These disparities may be linked to longstanding inequalities in social health determinants, such as limited access to medical care or occupational exposures, as well as the higher prevalence of underlying conditions like diabetes, which can heighten the risk of fungal and COVID-19 infections among certain minority groups.

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