Intestinal mucormycosis in a hemodialysis patient treated with desferrioxamine.

A case of fatal intestinal mucormycosis in a 57-year-old female hemodialysis patient who had received desferrioxamine (DFO) for aluminum overload is reported. The focus of fungal infection was not found until the intestine had been resected surgically. DFO is being used with increased frequency in dialysis patients to treat aluminum or iron overload. Recently a possible link between DFO therapy and mucormycosis has been suggested. In the management of hemodialysis patients, the potential risk of mucormycosis with DFO therapy should be considered.