[Rhinocerebral mucormycosis: report on eight cases]

Abstract

Mucormycosis is a serious condition, usually acute and often fatal, It presents in its most aggressive form in debilitated hosts, usually with diabetic ketoacidosis or immunosuppression. As otolaryngologists, we must diagnose it as early as possible, establish early treatment with amphotericin B and perform a surgical manoeuvre to obtain infection-free margins. It is rare and largely unknown, contributing to delayed diagnosis. It should be borne in mind due to the great increase of population with risk factors. We report eight cases seen in our hospital in recent years (1997-2007). Four were female and four male, aged between 36 and 86 years. The mean age at diagnosis was 57 and all had a predisposing factor. The treatment carried out was that of the underlying disease, systemic antifungal therapy and surgery.