Clinical and microbiological signs of oral candidosis in patients with COVID-19 receiving different pathogenetic therapy and having different levels of oral hygiene

Relevance. A lot of researchers consider that COVID-19 patients may develop fungal infections at the middle or late stages of the disease, which may in turn deteriorate the course of the main disease. Our purpose was to analyze the signs of oral fungal infections in coronavirus patients with different levels of oral hygiene and receiving various treatment. Materials and methods. 90 new coronavirus patients (CT-1, CT-2) of mean age 53.98 ± 1.06 y.o. were examined during the study. The prevalence of Candida yeast-like fungi and contamination were analyzed in three patient groups according to the oral hygiene level and the main disease therapy. The oral hygiene level was assessed by O*Leary plaque score index; all teeth were dyed and the ratio of the stained surfaces to all surfaces was calculated. Results. The three group results showed that Candida fungi were significantly more often encountered in patients with O*Leary plaque index of more than 50% in comparison with patients with O*Leary plaque control index from 0 to 50%. Clinical signs of candidiasis, such as tongue coating, peeling of the lips, cracks at the lip corners, are more often diagnosed in patients with low oral hygiene level (more than 50% of the surfaces stained). Conclusion. If tests for opportunistic fungal infections are positive in COVID-19 patients, especially in case of concomitant neutropenia, indications for additional antifungal therapy should be considered. Clinical signs of oral candidiasis and high contamination of the oral cavity with Candida fungi, as well as the oral hygiene level, can be the early markers of co-infection in COVID-19 patients.