Pulmonary Mucormycosis in a Patient with Crohn Disease on Immunosuppressive Medications including Infliximab

Abstract

Case presentation A 68-year-old man presented to hospital with a two-day history of increasing shortness of breath, left-sided pleuritic chest pain and chills. His medical history was significant for longstanding Crohn disease (>55 years) requiring multiple bowel resections in the 1970s in addition to high-dose corticosteroid therapy. For the past five years, he had been maintained on infliximab with only low-dose steroids for iatrogenic adrenal insufficiency. Additional medical problems included short gut syndrome, hypothyroidism and bronchiectasis; there was no history of diabetes. He experienced two hospital admissions in the preceding six months for pneumonia, one of which was due to Pneumocystis jirovecii confirmed by open lung biopsy. His medications on this admission included budesonide 6 mg orally three times daily, azathioprine 100 mg orally twice daily, infliximab 600 mg intravenously every four weeks, levothyroxine 25 µg orally daily, atovaquone 1500 mg orally daily, and salbutamol and ipratropium inhalers as needed. His most recent dose of infliximab was one month before admission. A physical examination revealed signs of consolidation in the left lung. His complete blood count included a white blood cell