title: Clinical spectrum of pulmonary mucormycosis.
abstract: Pulmonary mucormycosis is an uncommon, but important, opportunistic fungal pneumonia which is often diagnosed post-mortem. This review emphasizes clinical and pathologic characteristics of pulmonary mucormycosis that differentiate this infection from other fungal pneumonias. The most common clinical presentation of pulmonary mucormycosis is a rapidly progressive pneumonia with diffuse infiltrates on chest radiographic examination of a patient with an underlying hematologic malignancy treated with immunosuppressive drugs. Other immunocompromised hosts at risk for pulmonary mucormycosis include patients with diabetes mellitus who may develop a distinctive endobronchial form of this disease. Early consideration of this diagnosis, along with aggressive diagnostic evaluation, are critical to effective therapy and patient survival. While treatment with amphotericin B is the mainstay of therapy for pulmonary mucormycosis, diabetics with endobronchial disease may benefit from early, aggressive surgical resection of the involved lung tissue.
authors.forename: T D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Bigby
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Serota
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Tierney
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Matthay
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000503:physiopathology; D016883:Diabetic Ketoacidosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008172:Lung Diseases, Fungal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009091:Mucormycosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011859:Radiography; D013577:Syndrome