CUTANEOUS MUCORMYCOSIS IN A HEART-TRANSPLANT PATIENT ASSOCIATED WITH A PERIPHERAL CATHETER

The first known case of an intravascular catheter-related primary cuta neous mucormycosis in a heart transplant patient is reported. The pati ent had corticosteroid-induced hyperglycemia and experienced an acute tissue rejection episode. A necrotic lesion appeared around the insert ion site of a peripheral venous catheter. A biopsy revealed typical mu corales hyphae. The lesion continued to spread during the following 24 hours and necessitated amputation of the forearm. The organism was id entified as a Mucor species.