A fatal case of disseminated pulmonary and renal mucormycosis caused by Rhizopus microspores

Abstract

Rhinocerebral and pulmonary mucormycosis are the main manifestations of mucormycosis; however, disseminated pulmonary associated with renal mucormycosis is rarely reported. In this paper, we report a rare fatal case of disseminated pulmonary and renal mucormycosis caused by Rhizopus microsporus in a 50-year-old man with poorly controlled hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prolonged use of corticosteroids for the treatment of his reiterative gouty arthritis. In this patient, the use of corticosteroids and poorly controlled diabetes were considered underlying risk factor for his disseminated mucormycosis, along with acute renal dysfunction, suggesting the need for clinical suspicion of disseminated pulmonary and renal mucormycosis in hospitalized patients with poorly controlled diabetes and immunocompromised host.