Mucormycosis of the upper extremity in a patient with alcoholic encephalopathy.
Cutaneous mucormycosis is a rare opportunistic infection caused by fungi of the class Zygomycetes that can be rapidly fatal if unrecognized. The diagnosis of this infection is often made by infectious disease, dermatologic, or intensive care specialists. Lesions that affect the upper limb may require a hand surgeon to diagnose the infection. The diagnosis may be difficult to make, because these infectious lesions can be confused with ischemic pathology. We report on a rare case of cutaneous mucormycosis caused by Rhizopus arrhizus in a patient with cirrhosis and renal failure who presented with an ischemic hand.


METHODS
Diagnostic V.
Raizman
Noah M
NM
Trauma Training Center, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
Parisien
May
M
Grafe
Michael W
MW
Gordon
Rachel J
RJ
Rosenwasser
Melvin P
MP
D000328:Adult; D000671:Amputation, Surgical; D015897:Comorbidity; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D005542:Forearm / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000601:surgery; D006225:Hand / Q000098:blood supply; D006501:Hepatic Encephalopathy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007511:Ischemia / Q000382:microbiology; D008104:Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic / Q000150:complications; D009091:Mucormycosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery; D012307:Risk Factors; D017192:Skin Diseases, Bacterial / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery; D012883:Skin Ulcer / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*