Pulmonary mucormycosis as a complication of chronic salicylate poisoning

Mucormycosis is an often-fatal opportunistic fungal infection caused by members of the class Zygomycetes (Phycomycetes), order Mucorales. Most cases are diagnosed by histologic examination, through the identification of mucormycotic hyphae in infected tissues. Chronic debilitating conditions accompanied by acidosis such as diabetes mellitus, as well as leukemia, lymphoma, and immunodeficient states, predispose to the development of this type of opportunistic infection. This report describes a hitherto undescribed finding, the presence of structures consistent with sporangia in tissue sections, in a case of pulmonary mucormycosis occurring in a nondiabetic patient with metabolic acidosis secondary to chronic salicylate poisoning.