First mucormycosis patient discharged from GMCH-32

Chandigarh, May 27

A 69-year-old man from Ambala fought the deadly mucormycosis, commonly known as black fungus, for more than a fortnight and came out victorious.

The Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, today discharged the first Covid-19 patient detected with black fungus after undergoing treatment for 19 days.

Dr Surinder K Singhal, Head of the ENT Department, said the patient, a known diabetic, was admitted to the hospital with suspected symptoms of Covid-19 in early May.

He had fever, shortness of breath and blackish discharge from the nose. Investigations pointed towards Covid-19 infection and nasal endoscopic examination revealed blackish crusts and discoloration in the nose. He also had swelling of the eye, and impaired vision.

The patient was put on amphotericin B and later endoscopic debridement was done to remove the affected part from the nose, he said.

“The fungus impacts nose, eyes and even brain if not detected and treated on time. This patient was lucky as his condition was detected on time. There have been cases where we had to remove the upper jaw of patients,” said Dr Singhal.

There are currently 29 patients with Covid-related mucormycosis under treatment at the GMCH-32. Twenty patients had been operated upon till now, he said, adding that rest of the patients would be operated on as soon as they were fit for surgery. — TNS