Mucormycosis

Excerpt

Mucormycosis is an opportunistic fungal infection of the zygomycete family that can cause various types of infections. In most cases, there exist underlying conditions that predispose the hosts to the infection. As the fungi responsible are typical environmental organisms, they are usually non-pathologic in immunocompetent individuals. In immunosuppressed patients, however, these otherwise innocuous organisms can become a devastating and difficult-to-treat opportunistic infection. There are several clinical forms of infection: pulmonary, gastrointestinal, cutaneous, encephalic, and rhinocerebral. The latter must be differentiated from allergic fungal sinusitis, which is a non-invasive, local overgrowth in immunocompetent patients. Mucormycosis is characterized by tissue necrosis due to an invasion of blood vessels and subsequent thrombosis, which usually follows a rapid progression. The key to treatment is early and aggressive surgical debridement, along with high doses of intravenous antifungal therapy.