Frequency of Positive <i>Aspergillus</i> Tests in COVID-19 Patients in Comparison to Other Patients with Pulmonary Infections Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit
Erlangga Yusuf, Alieke G. Vonk, Johannes P. C. van den Akker, L. Bode, Gregorius J. Sips, Bart Rijnders, Jurriaan de Steenwinkel, Nelianne J. Verkaik, Marius Vogel, Menno M. van der Eerden, Mireille van Westreenen
Abstract
The aim of this study was to describe the frequency of positive Aspergillus tests in COVID-19 patients and investigate the association between COVID-19 and a positive Aspergillus test result. We compared the proportion of positive Aspergillus tests in COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for >24 h with two control groups: patients with community-acquired pneumonia with (i) a PCR-confirmed influenza infection (considered a positive control since the link between influenza and invasive aspergillosis has been established) and (ii) Streptococcus pneumoniae pneumonia (in whom positive Aspergillus tests are mostly considered to indicate colonization).