Chronical rhino-orbital mucormycosis in an immunocompetent host: A case report

Mucormycosis is an opportunistic fungal infection caused by molds within the order Mucorales. The rhino-orbital-cerebral localization is the most frequent. It is a destructive, necrotizing and potentially fatal disease. The treatment involves aggressive surgical debridement combined with antifungal drugs. The course is quickly fatal in the event of delayed diagnosis and / or treatment. This infection usually affects immunocompromised and diabetic patients, but cases of mucormycosis in immunocompetents are increasingly reported. Chronic mucormycosis is extremely rare and affects both immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients, its clinical evolution is nonspecific and its treatment is not standardized. We report the case of a destructive rhino-orbital and pulmonary involvement in a 59 years old immunocompetent patient who presented a right periorbital edema associated and a vision loss and a notion of nasal obstruction and progressive onset headache four months before admission. Her condition progressed with rapidly extensive necrosis. She underwent extensive surgical resection but soon succumbed to multiple organ failure. The diagnosis of mucormycosis was confirmed post mortem on the excisional piece. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to chronic mucormycosis in the immunocompetent and to emphasize the importance of early diagnosis and adequate management of this fatal infection.