Lack of surgical resection is associated with increased early mortality in hematological patients complicated with rhino-orbital-cerebral mucormycosis

Rhino-orbital-cerebral mucormycosis (ROCM), which is an acute fatal infectious disease with a high mortality rate, is increasingly being diagnosed in patients with hematological diseases worldwide. We aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment, and prognosis of hematological diseases complicated by ROCM. Our sample comprised a total of 60 ROCM patients with hematological diseases. The most common primary disease was acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) ( n =27, 45.0%), while 36 patients (60.0%) were diagnosed with a clear type of pathogen, all belonging to the Mucorales, most commonly Rhizopus (41.7%). Of the 32 patients (53.3%) who died, 19 (59.3%) died of mucormycosis, and 84.2% ( n =16) of those died within 1 month. Forty-eight cases (80.0%) received antifungal treatment combined with surgical therapy, 12 of whom (25.0%) died of mucormycosis, amounting to a mortality rate that was significantly lower than in patients who received antifungal therapy alone ( n =7, 58.3%) ( P =0.012). The median neutrophil value of patients who underwent surgery was 0.58 (0.11–2.80) 10 3 /μL, the median platelet value was 58.00 (17.00–93.00) 10 3 /μL, and no surgery-related deaths were reported. Multivariate analysis showed that patient’s advanced age ( P =0.012, OR =1.035 (1.008–1.064)) and lack of surgical treatment ( P =0.030, OR =4.971 (1.173–21.074)) were independent prognostic factors. In this study, hematological diseases associated with ROCM have a high mortality rate. Lack of surgical treatment is an independent prognostic factor for death from mucormycosis. Surgery may therefore be considered in patients with hematological disease even if their neutrophil and platelet values are lower than normal.