Background: COVID‐19 patients, especially the patients requiring hospitalisation, have a high risk of several complications such as opportunistic bacterial and fungal infections. Mucormycosis is a rare and opportunistic fungal infection that mainly affects diabetic and immunocompromised patients. An increase has been observed in the number of rhino‐orbital mucormycosis in patients with COVID‐19 admitted to Imam Khomeini Hospital, Kermanshah, Iran, since October 2020. This is a report of the frequency, risk factors, clinical manifestations, treatment and prognosis of COVID‐19 associated with mucormycosis infection.Methods: The medical records of COVID‐19 patients with rhino‐orbital mucormycosis who were diagnosed in an educational therapeutic hospital in Kermanshah, west of Iran were surveyed. Several parameters were analysed including demographic, clinical, therapeutic and laboratory characteristics.Results: Twelve patients with COVID‐19–associated rhino‐orbital mucormycosis were identified from 12 October to 18 November 2020. All cases reported as proven mucormycosis had a history of hospitalisation due to COVID‐19. Comorbidities mainly included diabetes mellitus (83.33%) and hypertension (58.33%). Seventy‐five per cent of patients received corticosteroids for COVID‐ 19 treatment. The sites of involvement were rhino‐sino‐orbital (83%) and rhino‐sino (17%). Amphotericin B/liposomal amphotericin B alone or in combination with surgical debridement or orbital exenteration was used as the first‐line therapy. The overall mortality rate was 66.7% (8/12).Conclusions: We found a high incidence of mucormycosis among COVID‐19 patients. Diabetes mellitus and corticosteroid use were the dominant predisposing factor of mucormycosis. Mucormycosis is a life‐threatening and opportunistic infection; therefore, physicians should know the signs and symptoms of the disease so that a timely diagnosis and therapy can be performed.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) has become a significant health problem globally. The virus has spread widely and become a global pandemic. The pathophysiology for SARS‐CoV‐2 has not been explained clearly. It has been associated with several multiorgan symptoms, among which its dermatological manifestations are of great interest. Primarily, there has been no report of skin features among COVID‐19 patients. Nevertheless, recently there have been several reports regarding COVID‐19 patients who presented with cutaneous manifestations. In the current review, we focus on the various cutaneous manifestations of COVID‐19 infection.

A novel coronavirus, or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), was identified as the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). In early 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID‐19 the sixth public health emergency of international concern. The COVID‐19 pandemic has substantially affected many groups within the general population, but particularly those with extant clinical conditions, such as having or being treated for cancer. Cancer patients are at a higher risk of developing severe COVID‐19 since the malignancy and chemotherapy may negatively affect the immune system, and their immunocompromised condition also increases the risk of infection. Substantial international efforts are currently underway to develop specific methods for diagnosing and treating COVID‐19. However, cancer patients’ risk profiles, management, and outcomes are not well understood. Thus, the main objective of this review is to discuss the relevant evidence to understand the prognosis of COVID‐19 infections in cancer patients more clearly, as well as helping to improve the clinical management of these patients.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of patients experience asymptomatic to mild self-limited disease, but some cases progress to respiratory and multi-organ failure. However, so far, no approved antiviral therapy has been available for treatment of COVID-19. Sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (SOF/VEL) is an approved anti-HCV drug that is capable of suppressing other families of positive-sense RNA viruses with conserved polymerase and may be effective against SARS-CoV-2. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the SOF/VEL combination in addition to the national standard of care versus the national standard of care alone (hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir as well as supportive care) in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 infection. This single-centre, randomized, open-labelled, prospective clinical trial was done in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 admitted to Farabi Hospital in Kermanshah Province, Iran. Eligible patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to the SOF/VEL arm (SOF/VEL plus the national standard of care) or the control arm (the national standard of care alone). The main outcome of the study was the mortality on Day 28 after randomization. Secondary outcomes were time from the start of medication to clinical improvement, hospital length of stay, need for mechanical ventilation, duration of mechanical ventilation and conversion of RT–PCR results from positive to negative from the time of randomization to discharge. Adverse events were evaluated in all patients who started their assigned treatment. Between 11 April and 8 June 2020, 80 patients were recruited and randomly assigned into the SOF/VEL (n = 40) and control (n = 40) arms. The primary outcome was not significantly different between the two arms (P = 1.00). Secondary outcomes, including time to clinical improvement, hospital length of stay, need for mechanical ventilation, duration of mechanical ventilation and RT–PCR conversion, were not significantly different between arms either (P > 0.05). SOF/VEL treatment and the national standard of care were tolerated similarly. Although treatment with SOF/VEL was safe, adding SOF/VEL to the standard of care did not improve the clinical status or reduce mortality in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19. However, larger randomized clinical trials including more parameters are needed for accurate estimation of the efficacy of SOF/VEL.