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Query: UMLS:C0392680 (shortness of breath)
 5,217 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Zygomycosis is an uncommon but frequently fatal infection and occurs mostly in immunosuppressed hosts, whereas approximately 50% of zygomycosis occurs in diabetic patients. The current patient initially presented with persistent pulmonary edema secondary to renal failure. This was the last of four admissions within 1 year for this 68-year-old woman, for whom the chief complaints were shortness of breath and chest pain. Her past medical history included insulin-requiring type 2 diabetes and hypertension for 10 years, and chronic heart and renal failure. She was previously admitted to the hospital for what appeared to be pulmonary edema secondary to renal failure. In the last admission the patient developed pulmonary hemorrhage and metabolic acidosis. Transbronchial biopsy was performed, showing irregular fungal hyphae in the blood vessels, morphologically consistent with zygomycosis. Central nervous system computed tomography also revealed a large infarct in the cerebral hemisphere. The patient died on the seventh hospital day. At autopsy three organs were extensively involved by zygomycosis: (i) lungs were diffusely hemorrhagic with acute infarcts; (ii) pericardium had fibrotic inflammation; and (iii) the left cerebral hemisphere, cerebellum and pons had large hemorrhagic infarct by zygomycosis infection. Corticosteroid medication and hemodialysis triggered increasing hyperglycemia, metabolic acidosis and iron overload, which contributed to zygomycosis infection that subsequently spread to the heart and brain as a rare consequence.
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PMID:Zygomycosis involving lungs, heart and brain, superimposed on pulmonary edema. 1582 46

We report a case of pulmonary zygomycosis associated with unusual deposition of calcium salt crystals. The patient was a 75-year-old female who had onset of cough and shortness of breath. She was treated for community-acquired pneumonia but died despite intensive therapy. Postmortem examination revealed diffuse alveolar damage and multifocal necrotizing pneumonia associated with herpes simplex infection and invasive zygomycosis. Birefringent particles were seen associated with fungal elements in the lung parenchyma, within bronchial cartilage, and in blood vessel walls. By infrared spectroscopy, the birefringent particles in the pulmonary parenchyma and within bronchial cartilage had spectral characteristics of calcium oxalate dihydrate and calcium oxalate monohydrate, respectively. The birefringent crystals within vascular walls were identified as calcium carbonate. This case documents the chemical composition and location of 3 different calcium salt crystals in pulmonary zygomycosis. It also shows that among pulmonary fungal infections, calcium oxalate deposition is not restricted to aspergillosis.
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PMID:Deposition of calcium salts in a case of pulmonary zygomycosis: histopathologic and chemical findings. 1945 61

Mucormycosis is a rare infection caused by the ubiquitous filamentous fungi of the order Mucorales and class Zygomycetes. These species are vasotropic, causing rapid onset of tissue infarctions and necrosis and subsequent thrombosis by invading vascular bed. The disease spectrum ranges from involvement of skin, sinuses, lung, and brain to disseminated and mostly fatal infections, especially in immunocompromised hosts. Here, we present a case of a fatal disseminated mucormycosis in a 56-year-old female who had deceased donor renal allograft transplantation ~2 weeks prior to presentation. She presented with shortness of breath and dry cough. Despite being on broad-spectrum antibiotics/antifungals and proper management by transplant, infectious disease, and primary team, she died within 3 weeks of admission. Autopsy showed disseminated mucormycosis of lungs and thyroid. Disseminated infection within 2 weeks of solid organ transplantation in this patient was one of the rare features of mucormycosis.
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PMID:Case of early-disseminated Rhizopus microsporus var. microsporus mucormycosis in a renal transplant patient. 2735 31