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Review
. 2024 Oct 19;10(10):727.
doi: 10.3390/jof10100727.

Recent Advances in Diagnostic Approaches for Mucormycosis

Jawad Safiia  1 , Marco Aurelio Díaz  1   2   3 , Hassan Alshaker  1   3 , Christine J Atallah  1   3 , Paul Sakr  1   3 , Dimitrios G Moshovitis  1   2 , Ahmad Nawlo  1   3 , Andres E Franceschi  1   2   3 , Alexis Liakos  1   2 , Sophia Koo  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

Recent Advances in Diagnostic Approaches for Mucormycosis

Jawad Safiia et al. J Fungi (Basel). .

Abstract

Mucormycosis, an invasive fungal infection caused by members of the order Mucorales, often progresses fulminantly if not recognized in a timely manner. This comprehensive review discusses the latest developments in diagnostic approaches for mucormycosis, from traditional histopathology and culture-based methods to advanced and emerging techniques such as molecular assays, imaging, serology, and metabolomics. We discuss challenges in the diagnosis of mucormycosis and emphasize the importance of rapid and accurate identification of this life-threatening infection.

Keywords: Mucorales; fungal biomarkers; medical mycology; metabolomics; mucormycosis; volatile organic compounds.

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Conflict of interest statement

Sophia Koo-research funding: NIH/NIAID R44 AI141264, NIAID R01AI138999, NIAID R01AI175040, NCATS U01 TR004072; research funding from Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp, Scynexis, Inc, GlaxoSmithKline, Ansun BioPharma, Locus Biosciences. Consulting fees: Generate Biomedicines, Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Patent pending: Volatile metabolite profiles for the diagnosis and treatment of Mucorales fungi, US Patent 1096000.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Reverse halo sign (red arrow) in (A) axial and (B) coronal chest CT images from a patient with pulmonary mucormycosis caused by Rhizopus arrhizus.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Hematoxylin–eosin (H&E) stained slide demonstrating the broad, ribbon-like pauci-septate, 90-degree angle branching hyphae of Rhizopus in a patient with disseminated infection in the brain tissue. Image courtesy of Dr. Isaac Solomon.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Grocott–Gömöri’s methenamine silver (GMS) stained slide showing more narrow, septate, acute-angle branching hyphae of Aspergillus fumigatus in a patient with invasive aspergillosis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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