Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has a broad symptom spectrum that varies from person to person. However, evidence has been proposed for a sex dependence in symptom severity. Purpose: To describe the criteria and approaches that suggest the sex differences as factors responsible for the susceptibility to infection and heterogeneity of SARS-CoV-2 disease symptom severity. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed in the PubMed database, deeming articles published from December 2019 to May 2021; languages of publication: English and Spanish; encompassing current and retrospective studies on sexual, hormonal, molecular and genetic factors in SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease. Results: A total of 58 articles were selected, which mainly addressed the following research lines and topics: epidemiology and public health, biomedical sciences (evolution, reproduction, genetics, immunology, endocrinology, biochemistry, molecular biology) and clinical medicine. Conclusions: Statistically there is less severity and mortality due to infection in the female population globally. This trend responds to mechanisms that include: a greater reserve of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) in some tissues, a more effective immune response due to the presence of certain sex hormones that act as protective factors to the disease, as well as mechanisms inherent to sex genes, either the inactivation of X or the expression of miRNA and genes associated to the immune system. Contexto: La enfermedad por coronavirus (COVID-19) presenta un amplio espectro sintomático que varía de persona a persona. Sin embargo, hay evidencia que denota una dependencia del sexo en la severidad de los síntomas. Objetivo: Describir los criterios y planteamientos que sugieren a las diferencias de sexo como factores responsables de la mortalidad y severidad de los síntomas de la enfermedad por SARS-CoV-2. Metodología: Se realizó una búsqueda descriptiva de la literatura en la base de datos PubMed, tomando artículos publicados desde diciembre de 2019 hasta mayo de 2021, siendo los idiomas de publicación inglés y español, englobando estudios actuales y retrospectivos sobre factores sexuales, hormonales, moleculares y genéticos en la infección y enfermedad por SARS-CoV-2. Resultados: Se seleccionaron 30 artículos, los cuales abordaban principalmente las siguientes líneas y temas de investigación: epidemiología y salud pública, ciencias biomédicas (evolución, reproducción, genética, inmunología, endocrinología, bioquímica, biología molecular) y, medicina clínica. Conclusiones: Estadísticamente hay menor severidad y mortalidad por la infección en población femenina a nivel global. Esta tendencia responde a mecanismos que incluyen: una mayor reserva de enzima convertidora de angiotensina II (ECA2) en algunos tejidos, una respuesta inmune más eficaz debido a la presencia de hormonas sexuales que actúan como factores protectores a la enfermedad, así como mecanismos propios de los genes sexuales, ya sea la inactivación del X o genes asociados al sistema inmune.

Background: Candidozyma auris (Candida auris) is an emerging multidrug-resistant fungal pathogen that can cause hospital outbreaks and is associated with high mortality. However, data on the clinical predictors of mortality in patients with bloodstream infection (BSI) caused by C. auris remain limited, particularly in Latin America, and the impact of guideline-based management practices on clinical outcomes has been scarcely explored. Methods: We conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study including 134 patients with culture-proven C. auris BSI admitted to seven hospitals in Colombia between 2016 and 2021. Demographic, clinical, and therapeutic variables were evaluated to identify factors associated with 30-day mortality using a multivariate logistic regression model. Variables related to quality of care and guideline-based candidemia management, included in the EQUAL Candida Score, were also assessed. Results: The thirty-day mortality rate was 38.1%. In the multivariate analysis, older age (OR per decade: 1.37; 95% CI: 1.07–1.78), prior corticosteroid therapy (OR: 4.06; 95% CI: 1.70–10.16), and shock within 48 h of BSI (OR: 6.22; 95% CI: 2.52–16.52) were associated with higher mortality. Conversely, a higher EQUAL Candida Score was associated with lower 30-day mortality (OR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.73–0.97). Conclusions: In this large Colombian cohort, advanced age, corticosteroid exposure, and early hemodynamic instability were significant predictors of mortality in patients with C. auris BSI. Greater adherence to recommended management practices—as reflected by the EQUAL Candida Score—appeared to be associated with lower mortality, underscoring the potential role of timely, structured care strategies in improving outcomes for patients with C. auris infections. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to evaluate the EQUAL Candida Score in a cohort of patients with C. auris BSI.