Infection due to Rhizomucor pusillus: report of four cases in patients with leukemia and review.

Rhizomucor pusillus, a thermophilic fungus of the order Mucorales, is a rare cause of human infection. A search of the literature has produced only seven reports describing nine cases of infection caused by this organism. Recently, over a period of 17 months, four cases of R. pusillus infection in patients with leukemia were diagnosed: a cluster of three cases in a Montreal hospital and one isolated case from Quebec City. All four cases were proven both by histopathologic examination and by culture of tissues. In three cases, pulmonary involvement was confirmed following lung surgery, and in one case, disseminated infection was observed at autopsy. All patients received amphotericin B, and two underwent surgical debridement; however, none of the patients survived.