Disseminated Mucormycosis in a Patient with Recent Kidney Transplantation: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Mucormycosis is an invasive fungal infection commonly seen in diabetics and immunocompromised patients. We report a case of disseminated mucormycosis in a 47-year-old diabetic male who underwent deceased donor renal allograft transplantation about 5 weeks prior to presentation. Our patient presented with increasing fatigue, diarrhea and oligoanuria and was found to have significant acute kidney injury. Doppler ultrasound of the allograft revealed segmental decreased renal perfusion in the upper pole of the allograft with moderate hydronephrosis. Nephrostomy tube placement yielded minimal urine output. An allograft biopsy showed diffuse C4d-positive staining and fungal hyphae suggestive of Mucor infection. Computed tomography (CT) imaging revealed a right upper lobe mass, a small hypodensity in the liver and normal findings in the head. Despite prompt management including discontinuation of immunosuppression, amphotericin B and allograft nephrectomy, the patient had a rapid decompensation, developed respiratory failure requiring intubation, hypotension and supraventricular tachycardia with multiple new areas of hypoattenuation on head CT – all of which ultimately resulted in his death. A review of the literature revealed that mucormycosis is a relatively rare disease with a cumulative 12-month incidence rate of 0.07% in solid organ transplant recipients. Disseminated disease was found in about 23% of cases, with a mortality rate of 96%.