INTRODUCTION Granulomatous inflammation is a distinctive ...

(Talmi et al., 2002).
Although evidence of infection of the soft tissues of the orbit may sometimes be seen by CT scan,
magnetic resonance imaging is more sensitive. Still, as with CT scans, patients with early
rhinocerebral mucormycosis may have a normal magnetic resonance imaging (Fatterpekar et al.,
1999).
Because of its propensity for vascular structures, neuroradiologic findings associated with
mucormycosis include arteritis, ischemic changes, bland or hemorrhagic infarction, and aneurysm
formation. Meningitis is uncommon in the hematogenous form and more common with
rhinocerebral or central skull base involvement resulting from direct extension of the infection.
Intracranial granuloma formation by mucormycosis is a rare occurrence with few case reports in
the literature (Metwally, 2006-3).
In addition to the aforementioned findings, CT scan findings may show hypoattenuating lesions
with adjacent edema on precontrast examination. Hemorrhage may also be present. Ring
enhancement may be shown after the administration of contrast material. The signal intensity of
intracerebral lesions has been described in a number of case reports involving the basal ganglia
region with suggestion of hemorrhage as exhibited by high signal intensity on TI-weighted images.
The corresponding areas showed hyperintense signal on T2-weighted images secondary to
associated edema. The signal intensity seen within the sinuses on MR imaging in the rhinocerebral
form of mucormycosis is similar to that described for aspergillosis (Terk et al., 1992).
Treatment
Four factors are critical for eradicating mucormycosis: rapidity of diagnosis, reversal of the
underlying predisposing factors (if possible), appropriate surgical debridement of infected tissue,
and appropriate antifungal therapy. Early diagnosis is important because small, focal lesions can
often be surgically excised before they progress to involve critical structures or disseminate
(Nithyanandam et al., 2003).
Because patients with rhinocerebral disease may initially present with normal mental status and
appear clinically stable, the urgency for establishing the diagnosis is frequently underappreciated.
The key concept is that initial spread of the fungus to the brain may be relatively asymptomatic.
Once the fungus has penetrated the cranium or entered the major intracranial vasculature,
mortality increases substantially. And it is critically important to emphasize that if mucormycosis
is suspected, initial empirical therapy with a polyene antifungal should begin while the diagnosis is
being confirmed, rather than waiting while a protracted series of diagnostic tests are completed
(Brad et al., 2005).
Only members of the polyene class, including amphotericin B deoxycholate and its lipid
derivatives, had been demonstrated to have activity against the agents of mucormycosis.
Furthermore, the various species that cause mucormycosis have a broad range of susceptibilities
to amphotericin. Therefore, the recommended dose of amphotericin B deoxycholate has been 1 to
1.5 mg/kg/day, which results in a very high toxicity rate (Ibrahim et al., 2003-a). High-dose
liposomal amphotericin B (15 mg/kg/day) was considerably more effective than amphotericin B
deoxycholate (1 mg/kg/day), nearly doubling the survival rate (Ibrahim et al., 2003-b).
Surgery is necessary due to the massive amount of tissue necrosis occurring during mucormycosis,
which may not be prevented by killing the organism. Surgical debridement of infected and
necrotic tissue should be performed on an urgent basis (Ibrahim et al., 2005).
Coccidiodomycosis