AUTHOR=Wang Qi , Huang YangYiYi , Ma HaiNa , Fan Guo-Kang 

TITLE=A case report: Comorbidity of Rhinocerebral mucormycosis and pulmonary aspergillosis with challenging diagnosis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2024.1398714

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2024.1398714

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Background</title><p>Mucormycosis is a rare opportunistic invasive fungal disease. Rhinocerebral mucormycosis (RCM) is clinically difficult to diagnose, and patients often die due to delayed diagnosis.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Case description</title><p>A patient with concurrent pulmonary aspergillosis was diagnosed with RCM caused by <italic>Rhizopus</italic> through metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing (mNGS). Despite comprehensive treatment including surgery, amphotericin B, and posaconazole, the patient tragically passed away. The treatment was delayed due to repeated cultures of secretions were negative and pathological examination could not clarify which fungus is infected.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Conclusion</title><p>The clinical manifestations of RCM are not specific in the early stage, but the infection progresses rapidly. Therefore, early and accurate diagnosis is very important. mNGS is helpful for patients suspected of RCM, especially when conventional microbiology tests were negative.</p></sec>