Mucor Mycosis : Symptoms, Diagnosis And testing,Treatments
Mucormycosis (previously called zygomycosis) is a serious but rare fungal infection caused by a group of molds called mucormycetes. These molds live throughout the environment. Mucormycosis mainly affects people who have health problems or take medicines that lower the body’s ability to fight germs and sickness. It most commonly affects the sinuses or the lungs after inhaling fungal spores from the air. It can also occur on the skin after a cut, burn, or other type of skin injury.
Mucor Mycosis : Symptoms, Diagnosis And testing,Treatments
Symptoms of Mucormycosis
The symptoms of mucormycosis depend on where in the body the fungus is growing. 1,4 Contact your healthcare provider if you have symptoms that you think are related to mucormycosis.

Symptoms of rhinocerebral (sinus and brain) mucormycosis include:
  • One-sided facial swelling
  • Headache
  • Nasal or sinus congestion
  • Black lesions on nasal bridge or upper inside of mouth that quickly become more severe
  • Fever
Symptoms of pulmonary (lung) mucormycosis include:
  • Fever
  • Cough
  • Chest pain
  • Shortness of breath
Cutaneous (skin) mucormycosis can look like blisters or ulcers, and the infected area may turn black. Other symptoms include pain, warmth, excessive redness, or swelling around a wound.

Symptoms of gastrointestinal mucormycosis include:
  • Abdominal pain
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Gastrointestinal bleeding
Disseminated mucormycosis typically occurs in people who are already sick from other medical conditions, so it can be difficult to know which symptoms are related to mucormycosis. Patients with disseminated infection in the brain can develop mental status changes or coma.

Diagnosis and testing for Mucormycosis
How is mucormycosis diagnosed?
Healthcare providers consider your medical history, symptoms, physical examinations, and laboratory tests when diagnosing mucormycosis. Healthcare providers who suspect that you have mucormycosis in your lungs or sinuses might collect a sample of fluid from your respiratory system to send to a laboratory. Your healthcare provider may perform a tissue biopsy, in which a small sample of affected tissue is analyzed in a laboratory for evidence of mucormycosis under a microscope or in a fungal culture. You may also need imaging tests such as a CT scan of your lungs, sinuses, or other parts of your body, depending on the location of the suspected infection.


Treatment for Mucormycosis
How is mucormycosis treated?
IV bag for antifungal medicine, usually amphotericin B, posaconazole, or isavuconazole
Mucormycosis is a serious infection and needs to be treated with prescription antifungal medicine, usually amphotericin B, posaconazole, or isavuconazole. These medicines are given through a vein (amphotericin B, posaconazole, isavuconazole) or by mouth (posaconazole, isavuconazole). Other medicines, including fluconazole, voriconazole, and echinocandins, do not work against fungi that cause mucormycosis. Often, mucormycosis requires surgery to cut away the infected tissue.