Latest News About Oral Candidiasis

Here are some recent, relevant updates and themes in the medical literature about oral candidiasis (thrush)—mostly focused on risk factors in specific patient groups and emerging treatment directions:

• Higher risk in hospitalized people with COVID-19: A recent study of hospitalized adults with SARS‑CoV‑2 infection (March 2020–December 2022) reported an oral candidiasis incidence of 17.0%, and found that antibiotics and corticosteroids were associated with increased risk.[2]
• Possible links to COVID-related immunologic changes: Another review-like paper discusses how immunosuppression and inflammatory/immune changes in people with COVID-19 may favor Candida colonization and subsequent infection, with poor oral hygiene and iatrogenic causes also highlighted as risk factors.[4]
• Strain diversity and the role of steroid/antibiotic exposure: An observational report from the COVID era noted oral candidiasis cases occurring under corticosteroids and antimicrobial therapy, and it emphasizes that when isolates are clinically significant, antifungal susceptibility testing should be performed; it also cautions against overuse of steroids/antimicrobials that could contribute to disease.[5]
• Ongoing interest in improving therapy and overcoming limitations: A 2025 paper on treatment advances describes current limitations of therapy (e.g., toxicity/delivery challenges for some antifungals) and discusses new delivery strategies and formulations as potential directions to improve effectiveness and safety.[9]

If you want, I can narrow it

Tell me which angle you care about most: 1) COVID/hospital settings
2) HIV / immunocompromised patients
3) New treatments or drug delivery
4) Prevention guidance (e.g., dentures, inhaled steroids, diabetes control)

And if you share your context (age group, immune status, denture use, inhaled steroid use), I’ll pull together the most relevant “latest” takeaways.