Mucormycosis found in 23-year-old Covid-cured Surat patient’s brain

Mucormycosis found in 23-year-old Covid-cured Surat patient’s brain

Jay.Pachchigar@timesgroup.com

Surat:21.05.2021

After getting discharged from hospital following recovery from Covid-19, there’s still a few things that one must look out for — redness in eyes, headache, coughing, bloody vomit among others. These may be a precursor to the dreaded mucormycosis.

Along with MM treatment, doctors advise getting an MRI scan of the brain done. For, condition of brain mucormycosis may go unnoticed until a patient suffers from epilepsy or becomes unconscious.

Surat doctors recently came across a rare case of MM infection in the brain of a 23-year-old patient from Kosamba while his sinus, eyes and lungs, which are usually found infected in MM patients, were completely unaffected. In fact, it was a case study for the doctors too who learnt about MM infection in the brain after conducting a surgery and biopsy.

“The patient started having fits and hence got MRI scans done. It showed brain edema which gradually increased, and his body movements were also slowing down. He was, therefore, brought to Surat,” said Dr Hitesh Chitroda, a neurosurgeon.

The surgeon further said that after CT scans showed that there was midline shift due to pressure, they conducted a brain surgery to decrease pressure. The surgery was done by Dr Chitroda along with Dr Maulik Patel and Dr Rakesh Bharodiya, a biopsy of brain tissues. “Biopsy report suggested mucormycosis infection in the brain, which surprised us as his sinus was unaffected. In usual case, the sinus gets infected first and then brain is affected,” he said.

Doctors suspect that the patient may have dissemminated mucormycosis in which the infection spreads through blood streams and most commonly affects the brain.

“I have never come across or heard of post-Covid isolated brain MM infection. Hence, this could be the first such reported case,” Dr Chitroda told TOI.

Advisory issued by Indian Council of Medical Research for screening, diagnosis and management of mucormycosis does not mention about symptoms like fits and brain edema.

Patient's CT scan image showing brain edema and mid-line shift