[Pulmonary mucormycosis in an HIV-infected patient]

A 51-year-old man, known to have chronic-aggressive hepatitis B, HIV infection and exertional dyspnoea, was hospitalized because of acute physical deterioration, cough with whitish exudate and dyspnoea at rest. Despite a CD4/CD8 ratio of 0.16 no prophylactic measures against Pneumocystis carinii had been taken. On examination the lungs were unremarkable, but the liver was enlarged and there were petechiae over all parts of the body. Laboratory tests showed impaired liver functions and a rise in lactate dehydrogenase activity (538 U/l). Chest radiogram demonstrated small to very small infiltrates in the lung. As Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia was suspected but bronchoscopy was too risky, he was at first treated with trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole (four times 320/1600 mg/24 h intravenously). When this failed, he received pentamidine (4 mg/kg, after 4 days 2 mg/kg intravenously), and finally cefotiam (twice 2 g daily), tobramycin (three times 40 mg daily) and corticoids (100 mg). Despite this treatment he died after 10 days from respiratory failure. Autopsy revealed interstitial pneumonia throughout the lung as well as focal mucor infiltrations in the wall of middle-calibre lung veins. Mucor is a ubiquitous, facultatively pathogenic mold fungus.