COVID-19—Associated Invasive Fungal Infections: Multidisciplinary Management

Target Audience
This activity is directed to physicians with specialties in infectious diseases, pulmonary/critical care medicine, and pathology/laboratory medicine as well as other healthcare providers who care for patients with severe COVID-19.

Program Overview
Patients with severe COVID-19 who require mechanical ventilation are at increased risk for invasive fungal infections (IFIs), including COVID-19–associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA), endemic fungi reactivation and non-Aspergillus molds such as Mucor. However, many clinicians do not have a strategy to screen for these infections. As part of a CDC Cooperative agreement, the faculty for the COVID-19–Associated Fungal Infections Educational Initiative (https://covidandfungus.org/) have developed a series of tools for educating healthcare providers about the epidemiology of IFIs, the spectrum of antifungal therapies, and how to institute therapeutic dose monitoring and dosage adjustments to assure adequate antifungal drug levels in COVID-19 patients with IFIs. In this interactive, case-based activity, expert faculty members weigh in on challenging COVID-19–associated IFI cases submitted by community members. The faculty members illustrate how interdisciplinary care, including education of nurse providers and involving consults with infectious diseases pharmacists, can assist in optimizing the pharmacology of antifungal therapies for patients with COVID-19–associated IFIs.

Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be better able to:

Screen for COVID-19–associated invasive fungal infections (CA-IFIs) in at-risk patients with severe COVID-19 or recovering from COVID-19
Employ appropriate diagnostic tests for CA-IFIs to determine the correct diagnosis
Treat CA-IFIs with the correct, pharmacologically optimized antifungal agent