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CASE REPORT article
Front. Med.
Sec. Pulmonary Medicine
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1544621
Pulmonary mucormycosis caused by Rhizopus microsporus in a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Provisionally accepted- 1 Department of Laboratory Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
- 2 Department of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
We report a rare case of pulmonary mucormycosis caused by Rhizopus microsporus, which is rare in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Rhizopus microsporus had been reported as the most common etiological agent associated with human infections, except Rhizopus oryzae in some studies.We described a case of 81-year-old man with pulmonary mucormycosis caused by Rhizopus microsporus but no other apparent risk factors including diabetes. The diagnosis mainly relied on sputum cultures and clinical manifestations. Despite antifungal therapy, his condition worsened, resulting in mortality.In this case, the patient had no underlying diseases such as diabetes or solid tumors. Clinicians should be aware of routine pathogenic microbiological tests of pulmonary mucormycosis in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Early and aggressive treatment can lead to improved prognosis.
Keywords: Rhizopus microsporus, Pulmonary mucormycosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Posaconazole, Infection
Received: 13 Dec 2024; Accepted: 20 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Liu, Hu, Qian and MO. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Shanshan Wang, Department of Laboratory Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
Guoqing Qian, Department of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
YIJUN MO, Department of Laboratory Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
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