Mucormycosis

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Source: NEJM

Original: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra2412565?af=R&rss=currentIssue...

Published: 2026-02-11T10:00:12Z

Mucormycosis is a serious fungal disease that most commonly affects the nose, sinuses, eyes, and brain, causing symptoms such as a runny nose, swelling and pain on one side of the face, headache, fever, and blurred vision[1]. The diagnosis is established by biopsy, culture and imaging methods, while it may resemble aspergillosis[1]. Treatment includes antifungal drugs such as amphotericin B at an initial dose of 1 mg intravenously slowly over 10–15 minutes and then daily according to body weight for 14 days, or isavuconazole or posaconazole, along with surgical removal of the infected tissue[1]. The prognosis is unfavorable: mortality is about 50% in sinus cases, 66% in pulmonary cases, almost 100% in widespread forms and 15% in cutaneous cases [1]. Risk factors include immunodeficiency, diabetes, and corticosteroids, and the disease progresses rapidly[1][2][3]. In the invasive form of sinusitis, mortality in intracranial localization is 50–95%, with frequent relapses above 50% in treated patients[2]. Complications include partial loss of neurological function, blindness, and clotting of blood vessels in the brain or lungs[1]. Prevention includes wearing a mask in dusty areas and protecting the skin from soil[1].