Clinical and Paraclinical Survey of Hospitalised Cases of Mucormycosis in Two Centres in Ghaemshahr and Sari during 2011-2018

Background and purpose: Zygomycosis (mucormycosis) is a rare fungal infection with high morbidity and mortality. This study evaluated mucormycosis's clinical and paraclinical features in patients admitted to Buali Hospital in Sari & Razi Hospital in Ghaemshahr, Mazandaran Province, Iran. Materials and methods: This retrospective and cross-sectional study reviewed the patients' files with proven or probable mucormycosis admitted to Buali & Razi hospitals from 20 April 2011 to 20 April 2018. The Student's T-test and Fisher's exact test were performed for data analysis using SPSS version 27 software. P ≤ 0.05 was considered as a significant value. Results: Out of 33 patients studied, 18 (54.55%) were female and 15 (45.45%) were male. The average age of the patients was 48.84 years. Among the signs and symptoms of the disease, most cases were related to headache. Diabetes was the most common underlying disease in these patients 28 (93.3%). The mortality rate in these patients was 48.48%, of which 25% related to mucormycosis. The genus Mucor and Rhizopus were the most common agents isolated in 9 cases of positive cultures. Conclusion: Results indicate that people with diabetes are more susceptible to mucormycosis than others, and that control and reduction of diabetes in the community can significantly reduce the incidence of mucormycosis. surgery combined with timely medical treatment also has the highest survival rate.