A Case of Gastric Mucormycosis Associated with Diabetes Mellitus and Uremia / 대한소화기내시경학회지

ABSTRACT

Mucormycosis is an infection caused by fungi of the class Zygomycetes, order Mucorales. These are usual ubiquitous saprophytes but occasionally cause opportunistic infection in immunocompromised patients. Typically, these fungi invade blood vessels, and produce thrombosis and tissue infarction, so causing host fatality. These infections can be categorized into rhinocerebral, pulmonary, widely disseminated, gastrointestinal, cutaneous and miscellaneous form. Most of mucormycosis cases reported in Korea were rhinocerebral form except for three cases, which were gastrointestinal mucormycosis, accompanied with hematologic malignancy or immunosuppressing treatment. We experienced a 58-year-old male with gastric mucormycosis, who had diabetes and mild uremia without hematologic malignancy and immunosuppressive treatments. His chief complaints were abdominal pain and melena, and gastroscopy showed a 3 3 cm irregular edged ulcer considering malignancy. Its histological findings showed large, thin-walled, non-septate and right-angled branching fungal hyphae in necrotic tissue, diagnosed as mucormycosis. Finally he was dead due to severe hematemesis.