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Health care information for sinusitis sufferers |  |
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Health care information for sinusitis sufferers | |
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Inflammatory & Infectious Causes
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CausesInflammatory & Infectious CausesAllergies | Bacterial | Fungus | Polyps | Reflux | Viral |Fungus Invasive Fungal Rhinosinusitis Those at risk from invasive fungal rhinosinusitis include people with a low white blood cell count – for example, bone marrow transplant patients or victims of leukemia or AIDS. Chemotherapy patients may also be susceptible, and people with diabetes may contract a special form of the disease termed mucormycosis. All forms of Invasive Fungal Rhinosinusitis are likely to be fatal unless recognized and treated early. Treatment is on three fronts: curing the illness that is causing the immune system to be depressed; systemic, or oral, antifungal therapy; and surgical debridement to clean out the passages. If the illness that is compromising the immune system cannot be cured, other treatment is usually futile. Very rarely, Invasive Fungal Rhinosinusitis occurs in a patient with an intact immune system. The disease may linger for months or even years and is treated with continuing systemic antifungal therapy and surgical debridement. In some cases, the patient is cured, but in others, the disease is fatal. Invasive Fungal Rhinosinusitis in all its forms is diagnosed by a microscopic examination of tissue taken from the sinuses. When the disease is present, invading fungal filaments, or hyphae, can be observed. Back to Fungus page
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