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. 2008 Jul;1(2):106-13.
doi: 10.4103/0974-2700.42203.

Mucormycosis in immunochallenged patients

Jane Pak  1 , Veronica T Tucci, Albert L Vincent, Ramon L Sandin, John N Greene
Affiliations

Mucormycosis in immunochallenged patients

Jane Pak et al. J Emerg Trauma Shock. 2008 Jul.

Abstract

Mucorales species are deadly opportunistic fungi with a rapidly invasive nature. A rare disease, mucormycosis is most commonly reported in patients with diabetes mellitus, because the favorable carbohydrate-rich environment allows the Mucorales fungi to flourish, especially in the setting of ketoacidosis. However, case reports over the past 20 years show that a growing number of cases of mucormycosis are occurring during treatment following bone marrow transplants (BMT) and hematological malignancies (HM) such as leukemia and lymphoma. This is due to the prolonged treatment of these patients with steroids and immunosuppressive agents. Liposomal amphotericin B treatment and posaconazole are two pharmacologic agents that seem to be effective against mucormycosis, but the inherently rapid onset and course of the disease, in conjunction with the difficulty in correctly identifying it, hinder prompt institution of appropriate antifungal therapy. This review of the literature discusses the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of mucormycosis among the BMT and HM populations.

Keywords: Fungal infections; Mucorales; mucormycosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Taxonomy of the most clinically relevant Mucorales species categorized by family and genus.[75]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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