This content is provided by StatPearls
Build quizzes with our comprehensive database in your specialty and track your progress. See your score history and get additional learning resources.Signup For Free Access!
A 55-year-old male with diabetes mellitus is admitted with a severe infection of his face. The patient has a very high fever, is in septic shock, and the entire right face appears necrotic. What is the most likely organism?
Select Your Answer:
Teaching Points
- Mucormycosis is caused by Mucorales fungi, an opportunistic fungus. The fungi commonly infect persons with diabetes mellitus or individuals who are immunosuppressed.
- Mucorales fungi have great potential to invade the local tissues and cause rapid fulminating of the surrounding tissue.
- On microscopy, the fungus is broad-based and has a right-angle appearance. Most patients have a poor prognosis after acquiring mucormycosis.
- Mucormycosis is characterized by hyphae growing around blood vessels and can be life-threatening in patients with diabetes mellitus or those who are severely immunocompromised. "Mucormycosis" and "zygomycosis" often are used interchangeably; however, Zygomycota has been identified as polyphyletic and is not included in fungal classification systems. While zygomycosis includes Entomophthorales, mucormycosis excludes this group.
StatPearls Review Article:
Click here to become an author
*eMedicine, Google Scholar, UpToDate, WheelessOnline, and DermNet are not affiliated with StatPearls. We do not control their content or advertising.
Adult Lab Normals
Pediatric Lab Normals
Calculator
PubMed References
| Development and validation of the European QUALity (EQUAL) score for mucormycosis management in haematology., Koehler P,Mellinghoff SC,Lagrou K,Alanio A,Arenz D,Hoenigl M,Koehler FC,Lass-Flörl C,Meis JF,Richardson M,Cornely OA,, The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy, 2019 Feb 15 [PubMed PMID: 30770712] | |
| Epidemiology and clinical outcomes of invasive mould infections in Indian intensive care units (FISF study)., Chakrabarti A,Kaur H,Savio J,Rudramurthy SM,Patel A,Shastri P,Pamidimukkala U,Karthik R,Bhattacharya S,Kindo AJ,Bhattacharya P,Todi S,Gopalakrishan R,Singh P,Pandey A,Agarwal R,, Journal of critical care, 2019 Feb 5 [PubMed PMID: 30769292] | |
| Pulmonary Mucormycosis in a Patient With Uncontrolled Diabetes., Lipatov K,Patel C,Lat T,Shakespeare A,Wang B,Prakash G,, Federal practitioner : for the health care professionals of the VA, DoD, and PHS, 2018 Jan [PubMed PMID: 30766320] | |
| Invasive sino-orbital fungal infections in immunocompetent patients: a clinico-pathological study., Adulkar NG,Radhakrishnan S,Vidhya N,Kim U,, Eye (London, England), 2019 Feb 14 [PubMed PMID: 30765886] | |
| An Unusual Case of Large-Vessel Vasculitis., Alsaed OS,Yahia YM,Abdulaziz HAM,Al-Allaf AW,, European journal of case reports in internal medicine, 2018 [PubMed PMID: 30756051] |
