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A Mucormycosis Case in a Cirrhotic Patient Successfully Treated with Posaconazole and Review of Published Literature

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Abstract

Mucormycosis is an invasive fungal infection associated with a high mortality rate, especially in immunocompromised hosts. Mucormycosis rarely occurs in cirrhotic patients. Here, we report a case of mucormycosis with underlying liver cirrhosis and diabetes mellitus. The patient suffered from maxillary sinusitis and osteomyelitis, and the infection was successfully treated with antifungal agents, surgical debridement, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The antifungal treatments used were liposomal amphotericin B, itraconazole, and posaconazole. Although our patient had liver cirrhosis (Child-Pugh classification B), no hepatic decompensation was developed during the treatment course of posaconazole. This is the first report of the safe and effective use of posaconazole for the treatment of mucormycosis in a cirrhotic patient.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Shang-Yi Lin, Po-Liang Lu, Chun-Yu Lin, Wei-Ru Lin, Ya-Ting Chang, Chung-Hao Huang, Chi-Yu Chen, Chung-Chih Lai & Yen-Hsu Chen

  2. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Po-Liang Lu

  3. Graduate Institute of Medicine and Tropical Medicine Research Center, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Po-Liang Lu, Chun-Yu Lin, Tun-Chieh Chen & Yen-Hsu Chen

  4. Department of Pathology, Kaohsiung Municipal Hsiao-Kang Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Kun-Bow Tsai

  5. Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, No. 68, Chunghwa 3rd Road, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Tun-Chieh Chen

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  1. Shang-Yi Lin
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  8. Chung-Hao Huang
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  10. Chung-Chih Lai
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  11. Yen-Hsu Chen
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Correspondence to Tun-Chieh Chen.

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Lin, SY., Lu, PL., Tsai, KB. et al. A Mucormycosis Case in a Cirrhotic Patient Successfully Treated with Posaconazole and Review of Published Literature. Mycopathologia 174, 499–504 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-012-9561-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-012-9561-8

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