Aspergillus tubingensis: A Rare Fungal Pathogen Complicating COVID-19 Case.

BACKGROUND

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been associated with invasive fungal infection. Several COVID-19 cases were complicated due to coinfection with Aspergillus, Rhizopus, and Mucor species. We present COVID-19 with Aspergillus tubingensis coinfection.

CASE PRESENTATION: A male patient presented with fever, cough, severe shortness of breath, and abdominal pain that persisted for a week. The patient was admitted to the ICU. The patient was diabetic and hypertensive, and COVID-19 pneumonia was confirmed. The patient became septic, and his blood culture was positive for Candida albicans. His sputum culture was positive for Acinetobacter spp. The patient was treated with a broad range of antibiotics and antifungal treatment. His case was complicated by hospital-acquired pneumonia; sputum culture was positive for Aspergillus species. Immediately, he developed septic shock, acute kidney injury, and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Postmortem molecular identification via ITS sequencing confirmed the presence of Aspergillus tubingensis.

CONCLUSIONS

Invasive fungal infections are characterized by high mortality. Early diagnosis to the species level is essential for successful treatment.