64-year-old CKD patient beats mucor in lung

Nagpur: A 64-year-old comorbid woman survived the black fungus attack in an unusually delayed onset of the flesh eating disease in her left lung following Covid infection during the second wave of the pandemic.
Doctors who treated the woman said she had been suffering from chronic kidney disease (CKD) for the last four years, which made her a high risk patient having poor chances of survival post mucormycosis surgery. Following diagnosis, lobectomy was performed to remove upper lobe of the lung.
Many recovered patients lost their eyes, jaw and facial bones to black fungus. Doctors said this was first documented case where mucor in lung was successfully removed.
Senior nephrologist Dr Shivnarayan Acharya said he was happy to see the woman recover despite her renal and cardiac condition. However, after 3 months, the senior citizen complained of breathlessness and blood in cough.
“A CT scan was done and results revealed there was some mass in the lung. We assumed it could be tumor or cancer, and preferred a biopsy for further assessment. The biopsy tissue came out black, leading to suspicion of black fungus. Histopathology of the sample confirmed the presence of black fungus which was removed following a surgery,” said Dr Acharya.
The nephrologist said the mass in the lung was huge. “We deployed both the approaches — medication and surgery — to rid the patient of the fungal infection,” he said.
The operation was performed by cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon Dr Vivek Lanje at Kingsway Hospital where hundreds of mucor-hit patients have successfully been treated.
Dr Lanje said this is the first case of post-Covid mucormycosis in lung in Central India. “The patient was discharged without any complications. This woman had great will power and full trust in the team managing her. All the time she sported a smile. She was aware of the risks and prepared for the worst. By God’s grace, she sailed through it. No residual mucor was seen,” he said.
Dr Acharya said renal failure was already taking a toll on the health of the patient. “Kidney patients are more prone to infections due to weak immunity. We thought the patient was out of danger when she was discharged after contracting Covid in May. But the patient returned complaining blood in sputum after three months. Usually, such complications are observed within 15 days of post-Covid phase.
Dr Lanje said the black fungus could be infesting her since Covid infection. The cardiovascular surgeon too said it was surprising that despite being on immunosuppressant, the infection took so long to show. “She had to be admitted for a month and was discharged last month,” he said.
CASE IN POINT
64-year-old woman suffering from chronic kidney disease and cardiac disease complains of breathlessness and blood in sputum
CT scan reveals mass in upper lobe of left lung, biopsy confirms black fungus
Woman recovered from Covid in May and fresh issues cropped up in August
Within a week, doctors performed lobectomy
Around 5% portion was removed in the debulking surgery
Lung capacity was not affected
Patient was discharged last month, physiotherapy of lung helped her recovery fast