Oculorhinofacial mucormycosis in patients with diabetes mellitus. Report of a case and discussion of clinical features

A case of mucormycosis (zygomycosis, phycomycosis) due to Mucor sp. was seen in a 34-year-old Senegalese man with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and ketoacidosis. The outcome was favorable with intravenous amphotericin B therapy, daily debridement, and optimal metabolic control. Mucormycosis is a rare disease due to a ubiquitous fungal agent. Physicians need to be familiar with mucormycosis because the infection spontaneously runs a fulminant, often fatal course. The oculorhinofacial form of the disease is discussed. The fungus first causes vascular damage by proliferating in blood vessels. Nasal necrosis is almost pathognomonic, especially in a patient with diabetes mellitus (a disease associated with immune deficiency). The prognosis is closely dependent on the promptness of diagnosis and treatment.