Mucormycoses: serious complication of high-dose corticosteroid therapy for traumatic optic neuropathy.
Mucormycosis is harmless to a healthy person, but can cause opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients, and once it has invaded internal organs is frequently fatal. Traumatic optic neuropathy is a rare complication of maxillofacial trauma. Management is controversial, and there are no treatment guidelines in the literature. The main methods of treatment of this condition employed today are high-dose corticosteroids and surgical optic nerve decompression, either alone or in combination. In this case, the patient was in good health, but received high-dose corticosteroids for 2 weeks, which temporarily diminished immune response and permitted the development of mucormycosis.
Dojcinovic
I
I
Clinic of Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery, Department of Surgery, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. ivan.dojcinovic@hcuge.ch <ivan.dojcinovic@hcuge.ch>
Richter
M
M
D000038:Abscess / Q000150:complications; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007572:Jaw Fractures / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008775:Methylprednisolone / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009091:Mucormycosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology*; D009901:Optic Nerve Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy; D019315:Retrobulbar Hemorrhage / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000150:complications*; D014230:Triazoles / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000935:Antifungal Agents; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D014230:Triazoles; C101425:posaconazole; D008775:Methylprednisolone