Alireza Tavakkoli, Thomas P. Johnston and Amirhossein Sahebkar* Pages 6649 - 6655 ( 7 )
SARS-CoV-2 invades the respiratory tract epithelium and can result in systemic inflammation prior to an infection caused by either bacteria or fungus. COVID-19- associated mucormycosis (CAM) is a serious condition that can occur during the time of the disease due to increased administration of corticosteroids. Various studies have suggested that statins may improve clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients. According to several preclinical reports, fluvastatin was shown to exert direct and indirect synergistic antifungal activity. Thus, fluvastatin could be considered a potential antifungal agent when no other option is available. Furthermore, in comparison with other statins, fluvastatin exhibits the fewest drug/drug interactions with anti-Mucorales azoles (e.g., isavuconazole and posaconazole), as well as with medicines that are used in solid organ transplant recipients (e.g., cyclosporine) and HIV-positive individuals (e.g., ritonavir); two groups of patients that have a higher risk of infection with Mucorales fungi following a SARSCoV- 2 infection.
COVID-19, fungal infection, immune system, mucormycosis, statins, fluvastatin.