title: Angioinvasive mucormycosis and paradoxical stroke: a case report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Rhizopustypically results in acute, aggressive and angioinvasive infection, particularly in immunosuppressed individuals. Risk factors include immunosuppression in haematologic malignancy, uncontrolled hyperglycemia, iron overload states, and older chelator agents such as deferoxamine.
  
  
  METHODS
  We describe a case of a 33-year-old female with transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia who was started on intravenous deferiprone therapy and subsequently presented with a retropharyngeal abscess. Despite intravenous broad spectrum antibiotics, she continued to deteriorate and developed aphasia. A CT scan of her head showed multiple hypodensities. Blood cultures grewRhizopusspecies and a subsequent transesophageal echocardiogram showed a mass in the right atrium with a patent foramen ovale.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although deferiprone, a newer iron chelator agent, has antifungal propertiesin vivo, this case illustrates that angioinvasiveRhizopusinfections can occur in patients treated with deferiprone.
authors.affiliation: McGill University, Montreal , Quebec , Canada.
authors.forename: Roxana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mititelu
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal medicine, The Ottawa Hospital , Ottawa, Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bourassa-Blanchette
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Karan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Roth
keywords: Mucormycosis; PFO; antifungal; aphasia; infectious endocarditis; iron chelator; stroke