Case Series of Post-COVID-19 Mucormycosis in Serbia/Rhino-Orbital-Cerebral Form: Surgical and Medical Treatment.

Abstract

Introduction: Mucormycosis is a rare but serious infection caused by fungi called mucormycetes. It is life-threatening, highly aggressive angioinvasive infection, which mainly affects immunocompromised people. Methods and Results: During 2021-early 2023, at the Clinic for Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dental Medicine, University of Belgrade, Serbia (the "Clinic"), medical team (the "Team") treated five patients, with a rhino-orbital-cerebral form of mucormycosis. All five patients had recently recovered from COVID-19 infection prior to detection of mucormycosis. All of them spent a considerable amount of time (on average 1 month of hospitalization) at COVID-19 specialized hospitals. The Team treated these patients following the guidelines for screening diagnosis and management of mucormycosis at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic (COVID-19 patient guidelines/Indian Council of Medical Research, published in May 2021 approved by WHO). Treatment included several phases, out of which the Team was responsible for and carried out early diagnosis and surgical intervention phase, while colleagues from other clinics assisted in other phases of treatment/management of mucormycosis. Conclusion: The goal of this paper is to present five patients diagnosed with mucormycosis, with a special focus on two patients who, due to their condition, received surgical intervention as part of their antifungal treatment.