Since rhinocerebral mucormycosis, when untreated, runs a progressive and fatal
course, early recognition and a high degree of suspicion are necessary. It was the suspicion
of mucormycosis that caused the surgeon in this case to obtain a frozen section intraoper-
atively, a procedure in which the pathologist examines the tissue as rapidly as possible
(without the standard techniques used to fix tissue) while the patient is still in the operating
room. Often, multiple frozen sections are examined during surgery. Debridement of the
infected area continues until a frozen section is obtained from the surgical site margin in
which the organisms are no longer seen. The required surgical debridement is frequently
extensive, resulting in disfigurement. In addition to aggressive surgical removal of infected
and necrotic tissue, treatment includes antifungal therapy and medical management,
including the correction of the underlying condition, such as diabetic ketoacidosis.
One of the major treatment challenges faced with mucormycetes is their high degree
of antifungal resistance. Mucormycetes are resistant to the echinocandins and the azoles,
with the possible exception of posaconazole. Liposomal amphotericin B is the antifungal
treatment of choice because it is better tolerated by the recipient and is less nephrotoxic than
amphotericin B. Interestingly, there have been small clinical studies that suggest that the
combination of liposomal amphotericin B and echinocandins has better efficacy than lipo-
somal amphotericin B alone in rhinocerebral mucormycosis.
Since rhinocerebral mucormycosis, when untreated, runs a progressive and fatalcourse, early recognition and a high degree of suspicion are necessary. It was the suspicionof mucormycosis that caused the surgeon in this case to obtain a frozen section intraoper-atively, a procedure in which the pathologist examines the tissue as rapidly as possible(without the standard techniques used to fix tissue) while the patient is still in the operatingroom. Often, multiple frozen sections are examined during surgery. Debridement of theinfected area continues until a frozen section is obtained from the surgical site margin inwhich the organisms are no longer seen. The required surgical debridement is frequentlyextensive, resulting in disfigurement. In addition to aggressive surgical removal of infectedand necrotic tissue, treatment includes antifungal therapy and medical management,including the correction of the underlying condition, such as diabetic ketoacidosis.One of the major treatment challenges faced with mucormycetes is their high degreeof antifungal resistance. Mucormycetes are resistant to the echinocandins and the azoles,with the possible exception of posaconazole. Liposomal amphotericin B is the antifungaltreatment of choice because it is better tolerated by the recipient and is less nephrotoxic thanamphotericin B. Interestingly, there have been small clinical studies that suggest that thecombination of liposomal amphotericin B and echinocandins has better efficacy than lipo-somal amphotericin B alone in rhinocerebral mucormycosis.
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