Abstract
A woman in her fifties was diagnosed with hypoplastic acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Soon after induction treatment, she developed pulmonary infiltrates in the lower lobe of the right lung, which shortly evolved into disseminated disease involving the left thorax, spleen, and liver. Although she had this life-threatening complication, complete hematological response was achieved after salvage and consolidation treatments. Positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography demonstrated formation of multiple abscesses, and biopsy of the liver revealed fungal hyphae, the morphology of which suggested mucormycetes; however, culture yielded no growth. As involved lesions remained unchanged or even deteriorated after >4 months of liposomal amphotericin B treatment, and because the underlying AML was in remission with normal hematopoietic recovery, the patient underwent carefully organized two-stage surgery to debride infected organs and tissues. The surgical specimens were composed of necrotic debris, but some areas contained hyphae with similar morphological features as those of the liver biopsy. The causative fungal pathogens were identified as Rhizomucor pusillus by a polymerase chain reaction-based molecular method. Currently, she regularly visits the out-patient clinic and is free from leukemia. This report suggests that extensive surgical debridement should be considered for disseminated mucormycosis when clinically possible.
