Severe osteomyelitis due to the zygomycete Apophysomyces elegans

J Clin Microbiol. 1994 Dec;32(12):3078-81. doi: 10.1128/jcm.32.12.3078-3081.1994.

Abstract

We describe a previously healthy 69-year-old man presenting with osteomyelitis of the humerus due to the zygomycete Apophysomyces elegans. The infection was acquired in Aruba, The Netherlands Antilles. The skin provided the most likely portal of entry, although there was no history of a traumatic inoculation. The patient had no history of diabetes, and no underlying immune defects were found. Despite treatment with 7.9 g of amphotericin B, an interthoracoscapular amputation proved necessary to curtail the rapid spread of the fungus in this immunocompetent host.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Amphotericin B / therapeutic use
  • Amputation, Surgical
  • Humans
  • Humerus
  • Immunocompromised Host
  • Male
  • Mucorales / isolation & purification
  • Mucormycosis*
  • Osteomyelitis / immunology
  • Osteomyelitis / microbiology*
  • Osteomyelitis / therapy

Substances

  • Amphotericin B