Infectious Diseases
Parisa Khorasani Esmaili; Shahriar Dabiri; Tooraj Reza Mirshekari; Fatemeh Nabipour; Ayeh Shamsadini; Hadi Eslami; Mohammad Ali Damghani; Ali Asghar Arabi; Maryam Amizadeh; Fatemeh Fani; Navid Gharaei; Shiva Pouradeli
Abstract
Background & Objective: Mucormycosis (also called black fungus) is an opportunistic serious fungal infection caused by mucormycetes. It can occur in diabetes mellitus patients and other immunosuppressive conditions with recent predisposing factors such as maxillofacial surgery and corticosteroid ...
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Background & Objective: Mucormycosis (also called black fungus) is an opportunistic serious fungal infection caused by mucormycetes. It can occur in diabetes mellitus patients and other immunosuppressive conditions with recent predisposing factors such as maxillofacial surgery and corticosteroid usage.Methods: In this study, 14 patients were referred to the otorhinolaryngology or ophthalmology ward of Shafa Hospital (Kerman, Iran) with primary symptoms of nasal fullness and Facial nerve dysfunction; they were admitted to the hospital to rule out the fungal infection. An endoscopic biopsy was taken from facial sinuses or orbit, and a microscopic evaluation was performed using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and periodic acid–Schiff (PAS) staining methods to rule out mucormycosis.Results: In the histopathological examination, broad-based nonseptate branching fungal hyphae were found in nasal sinuses through the endoscopic biopsy. Most of the patients had diabetes mellitus with a primary symptom of facial nerve palsy; also, most of them received corticosteroids (intravenous [IV] or intramuscular [IM] injection). All patients have recently been infected with COVID-19 (less than 1 month ago).Conclusion: COVID-19 infection could play a predisposing factor for many opportunistic infections, such as fungal elements); thus, the physician should be aware of the dose and day of corticosteroid therapy to prevent these infections.
GI, Liver & Pancreas Pathology
Chandan Kumar; Pragya Jain; Neelam Wadhwa; Preeti Diwaker; Nirupma Khan
Abstract
Mucormycosis is a rare but highly invasive opportunistic fungal infection. Gastrointestinal disease although uncommon is highly fatal. We report a case of jejunal mucormycosis in a 24 year old undernourished female with preceding surgical intervention for acute intestinal obstruction of tubercular etiology. ...
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Mucormycosis is a rare but highly invasive opportunistic fungal infection. Gastrointestinal disease although uncommon is highly fatal. We report a case of jejunal mucormycosis in a 24 year old undernourished female with preceding surgical intervention for acute intestinal obstruction of tubercular etiology. On 8th post-operative day, she developed oozing from suture line, prompting exploratory laparotomy, bowel resection, jejunostomy and ileal mucus fistula. Resected bowel showed one perforation and several areas of impending perforations. Characteristic broad, pauci-septate hyaline, empty looking hyphae with infrequent branching were found transmurally and showing angio-invasion. Local intestinal tissue trauma coupled with her sub-normal immune status permitted this unusual nosocomial infection. Histopathologic demonstration of the fungus in surgical specimens remains cornerstone of diagnosis of mucormycosis in view of its non-specific symptoms, low isolation rates of mycologic culture and lack of other rapid tests.
