A Fatal Case of Rhizopus azygosporus Pneumonia Following COVID-19

Anubhav Kanwar; Alex Jordan; Scott Olewiler; Kurt Wehberg; Michael Cortes; Brendan R Jackson

doi:10.3390/jof7030174

A Fatal Case of Rhizopus azygosporus Pneumonia Following COVID-19

J Fungi (Basel). 2021 Feb 28;7(3):174. doi: 10.3390/jof7030174.

Authors

Anubhav Kanwar¹, Alex Jordan², Scott Olewiler¹, Kurt Wehberg³, Michael Cortes⁴, Brendan R Jackson⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Infectious Diseases and Travel Medicine, Beebe Healthcare, Lewes, DE 19958, USA.
² Epidemiologist, Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329-4018, USA.
³ Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Beebe Healthcare, Lewes, DE 19958, USA.
⁴ Department of Internal Medicine, Beebe Healthcare, Lewes, DE 19958, USA.
⁵ Late Sequelae Unit, CDC COVID-19 Response Clinical Team, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329-4018, USA.

Abstract

We report a fatal case of Rhizopus azygosporus pneumonia in a 56-year-old man hospitalized for COVID-19 who had received methylprednisolone and tocilizumab. Although COVID-associated pulmonary aspergillosis has been widely documented, mucormycosis has been rarely reported. In this patient, receipt of two commonly used immunosuppressants likely contributed to mucormycosis risk, suggesting the need for vigilance in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; Rhizopus; mucormycosis; pneumonia.

Publication types

Case Reports