Iron overload is a risk factor for zygomycosis
A. A. McNab and P. McKelvie
Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
Well-recognized risk factors for zygomycosis include diabetic ketoacidosis,
immunocompromise, and deferoxamine therapy for iron or aluminum overload,
usually in patients undergoing kidney dialysis. We report a case of fatal
nasal-orbital-cerebral zygomycosis in an 82-year-old man with known
myelodysplasia and well-controlled diabetes. He was not receiving
deferoxamine. Despite radical surgery and amphotericin B therapy, he died;
primary hemochromatosis with gross iron overload was found post mortem.
Experimental evidence suggests iron overload without deferoxamine therapy
may be a risk factor for zygomycosis; the findings in this case would
support this hypothesis.
