Zygomycosis (patient information)

Zygomycosis
Overview
What are the symptoms?
What are the causes?
Who is at highest risk?
Diagnosis
When to seek urgent medical care?
Treatment options
Where to find medical care for Zygomycosis?
Prevention
What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?
Possible complications
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

Zygomycosis is a fungal infection of the sinuses, brain, or lungs that occurs mostly in people with weakened immune systems.

What are the symptoms of Zygomycosis?

Symptoms of rhinocerebral zygomycosis include:

• Eye swelling and protrusion (proptosis)
• Dark nasal eschar (scabbing)
• Fever
• Headache
• Redness of skin overlying sinuses
• Sinus pain or congestion

Symptoms of lung (pulmonary) zygomycosis include:

• Cough
• Coughing blood (occasionally)
• Fever
• Shortness of breath

Symptoms of gastrointestinal zygomycosis include:

• Abdominal pain
• Vomiting blood

Symptoms of kidney (renal) zygomycosis include:

• Fever
• Flank (side) pain

Symptoms of skin (cutaneous) zygomycosis include a single, painful, hardened area of skin that may have a blackened center.

What causes Zygomycosis?

Zygomycosis is caused by common fungi frequently found in the soil and in decaying vegetation. Most individuals are exposed to these fungi on a daily basis, but people with weakened immune systems are more susceptible to infection.

Syndromes associated with zygomycosis include:

• Rhinocerebral infection (infection of sinuses and brain)
  • May start as a sinus infection
  • May progress to involve inflammation of cranial nerves
  • May cause blood clots that block vessels to the brain (thrombosis)

• Pulmonary zygomycosis (lung involvement) -- pneumonia that gets worse quickly and may spread to the chest cavity, heart, and brain
• Zygomycosis of the gastrointestinal tract, skin, and kidneys

Who is at highest risk?

Conditions most commonly associated with zygomycosis include diabetes (usually poorly controlled diabetes), chronic steroid use, metabolic acidosis, organ transplantation, leukemia, lymphoma, treatment with deferoxamine, and AIDS.

Diagnosis

Zygomycosis should be suspected if symptoms appear in individuals with weakened immune systems, such as organ transplant recipients. Symptoms of rhinocerebral zygomycosis are most likely to occur among immunosuppressed people.

Depending on where the symptoms are, CT scans or MRIs may be done. Evaluation by an ear-nose-throat specialist is recommended if sinus involvement is suspected.

A tissue specimen must be taken and analyzed in order to make a definitive diagnosis of zygomycosis.

When to seek urgent medical care?

People with weakened immune systems and immune disorders (including diabetes) should seek medical attention if they develop fever, headache, sinus pain, eye swelling, or any of the other symptoms listed above.

Treatment options

Surgery should be done immediately to remove all dead and infected tissue. Surgery can lead to disfiguration because it may involve removal of the palate, parts of the nose, or parts of the eye. Without such aggressive surgery, however, chances of survival are greatly decreased.

You will also receive antifungal medicines through a vein.

Where to find medical care for Zygomycosis?

Directions to Hospitals Treating Zygomycosis

Prevention

Because the fungi that cause zygomycosis are widespread, the most appropriate preventive measures involve improved control of the underlying illnesses associated with zygomycosis.

What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?

Zygomycosis has an extremely high death rate even when aggressive surgery is done. Death rates range from 25 - 85% depending on the body area involved and your overall health.

Possible complications

• Blindness (if the optic nerve is involved)
• Clotting or blockage of brain or lung blood vessels (thrombosis)
• Death
• Nerve damage

Sources

• http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000649.htm
• Stevens DA. Aspergillosis. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007: chap 360.

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