Zygomycosis in a tertiary-care cancer center in the era of Aspergillus-active antifungal therapy: a case-control observational study of 27 recent cases.

BACKGROUND: Anecdotal evidence suggests a rise in zygomycosis in association with voriconazole (VRC) use in immunosuppressed patients.

METHODS: We performed prospective surveillance of patients with zygomycosis (group A; n = 27) and compared them with contemporaneous patients with invasive aspergillosis (group B; n = 54) and with matched contemporaneous high-risk patients without fungal infection (group C; n = 54). We also performed molecular typing and in vitro susceptibility testing of Zygomycetes isolates.

RESULTS: Nearly all patients with zygomycosis either had leukemia (n = 14) or were allogeneic bone marrow transplant recipients (n = 13). The Zygomycetes isolates (74% of which were of the genus Rhizopus) had different molecular fingerprinting profiles, and all were VRC resistant. In multivariate analysis of groups A and C, VRC prophylaxis (odds ratio [OR], 10.37 [95% confidence interval [CI]], 2.76-38.97]; P = .001), diabetes (OR, 8.39 [95% CI, 2.04-34.35]; P = .003), and malnutrition (OR, 3.70 [95% CI, 1.03-13.27]; P = .045) were found to be independent risk factors for zygomycosis. Between patients with zygomycosis (after excluding 6 patients with mixed mold infections) and patients with aspergillosis, VRC prophylaxis (OR, 20.30 [95% CI, 3.85-108.15]; P = .0001) and sinusitis (OR, 76.72 [95% CI, 6.48-908.15]; P = .001) were the only factors that favored the diagnosis of zygomycosis.

CONCLUSIONS: Zygomycosis should be considered in immunosuppressed patients who develop sinusitis while receiving VRC prophylaxis, especially those with diabetes and malnutrition.