Pterygopalatine Fossa: A Way to Spread Mucormycosis with Multiple Cranial Nerve Involvement

Author Info

Masoumeh Eslami

Corresponding Author

Masoumeh Eslami
Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Clinical Research Development Unit (CRDU) of 5Azar Hospital, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran

A B S T R A C T

Background: Mucormycosis is a rare, aggressive, and fatal infection caused by fungi of the Mucorales order of Zygomycete fungi. Mucormycosis is mainly found in patients with chronic conditions, and clinical cases are observed only in immunocompromised patients and patients with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus. Rhinocerebral type is the most prevalent type of mucormycosis which has a characteristic method of spread. Although the involvement of cranial nerves is not common, it can be multiple with facial nerve involvement. Case Presentation: We described an unusual route of fungus spread in a 50-year-old woman with the involvement of many cranial nerves, without obvious necrosis or significant involvement of paranasal sinuses. Pterygopalatine fossa was a way to spread mucormycosis. Conclusion: In every diabetic patient with cranial nerve palsy and sinusitis, invasive mucormycosis must be considered.

Article Info

Article Type

Case Report

Publication history

Received: Fri 16, Jul 2021
Accepted: Thu 29, Jul 2021
Published: Thu 12, Aug 2021

Copyright

© 2023 Masoumeh Eslami. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Hosting by Science Repository.
DOI: 10.31487/j.SCR.2021.08.14