Pulmonary mucormycosis in a hematology ward

During a 24-year period, seven patients with leukemia undergoing cytotoxic or immunosuppressive therapy developed pulmonary mucormycosis in our hematology ward. The autopsy incidence in patients with acute leukemia was 2.1%, with no significant rise during the last decade. Most cases occurred in early autumn. Two patients diagnosed premortem were successfully treated with antifungal drugs, whereas five patients diagnosed postmortem died within three weeks following radiographic identification. Persistent fever despite antibiotic coverage was the first clinical presentation, followed mostly by the radiographic appearance of rounded densities, subsequently progressing to hemorrhagic infarction with hemoptysis and/or pleuritic pain. Crescentic cavitation developed when hematologic remission was achieved. Thus, certain radiographic patterns with or without pulmonary infarct syndrome in the proper clinical setting should arouse suspicion of mucormycosis, providing the opportunity for early diagnosis and adequate treatment.