Successful eradication of mucormycosis occurring in a pulmonary allograft

The zygomycetes are saprophytic fungi that rarely cause disease in the norm al human host. In immunocompromised individuals, these organisms can cause invasive infections, collectively called mucormycosis. Mucormycosis is asso ciated with a high mortality rate, especially in organ transplant recipient s. In this report, we describe the first case of successfully treated mucor mycosis involving a pulmonary allograft. Treatment consisted of surgical ex cision of the affected lobe and chest wall and lipid-complex amphotericin B . The lipid complex formulation permitted a prolonged course of therapy tha t was likely critical to eradication of the infection.