Black Fungus Patient Treated And Discharged: Guwahati

Guwahati Excelcare Hospitals successfully treated and discharged a patient suffering from Black Fungus (Mucormycosis) on Tuesday.

The patient, a 26 year old male from Darrang District was under the care of Dr. Karan Saraf, Nephorlogist & Transplant Physician at Excelcare Hospitals. The patient underwent kidney transplant in December 2020 and was recovering well with a normal kidney function. He developed COVID in May 2021 which was managed by changing his transplant medication and steroids. Soon after recovery, the patient presented with greyish nasal discharge, right sided headache, blurring of vision and mild swelling of right cheek. On evaluation, he was diagnosed to have a fungal infection of the sinuses with extension to the brain.

Subsequently endoscopic debridement was done on 5th June by the ENT Team comprising of Dr. Bubul Chandra Roy, Dr. Akriba Ahmed and Dr. Bikash Choudhury. Multiple tissue cultures were examined in Microbiology Lab of Gauhati Medical College and Excelcare Hospitals which eventually confirmed it to be a case of Black Fungus (Mucormycosis). MRI done on the seventh day showed clearance of the disease from the sinuses.

Dr. Karan Saraf stated "The patient has made good recovery and has been discharged today. However, he will require long term antifungals and close monitoring. This case posed a unique challenge as the team had to balance the transplant medications and risks of antibiotics related damage to the transplanted kidney. Timely intervention, early surgery (if needed) and antifungals can help in reducing the mortality"

"There has been a two fold rise in Black Fungus cases during this pandemic with a death rate more than 50%" said Dr Frincy Khandelwal Baruah, Chief Microbiologist at Excelcare Hospitals.

Dr. Manash P Baruah, Director & HOD – Endocrinology, concluded by saying "Steroid use in treatment of COVID, uncontrolled sugars and immune dysregulation has contributed substantially to the rise in such cases. Strict monitoring and control of sugars post COVID, if necessary by intravenous insulin, can help reduce the risk of black fungus infection."

Also Read: Assam Detects Fifth Case Of Black Fungus