Doc diagnosed with Black and Green fungus

BENGALURU: A paediatric physiotherapist from Bengaluru, who suffered from Covid-19 in April, is possibly the first patient in Karnataka and India to develop both black fungus (mucormycosis) and green fungus (aspergillosis). The patient, Dr Karthikeyan R, developed pain on his face, intolerable headache and nasal discharge while he was admitted to a hospital in Mysuru. He was later shifted to Bengaluru, TNIE reported.

“It did not look like a regular black fungus case as he had greenish brown salt deposits (crystals) in his nose. The fungal culture revealed green fungus. Endoscopy showed puss in his nose and CT and MRI scans detected fungal infection. With an endoscopic surgery through his nose, we drilled the bone and cleared the dead tissue. Anti-fungal medication alone would not have led to cure as black fungus affects blood supply to the tissue and grows on dead tissue. Post-surgery, he was given anti-fungal medication,” said Dr Prashanth R Reddy, Chief Consultant, ENT and Endoscopic Skull Base Surgeon, BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital, Bengaluru.

The patient was not a known diabetic, but was diagnosed with it after Covid. During his treatment for coronavirus in Mysuru, he was on steroids. If not treated in time, his condition would have turned fatal. Dr Reddy said that the root cause of fungal infection is necrotising (tissue death) sinusitis (inflammation or swelling of the tissue lining the sinuses) caused by a Covid variant. Fungal infections grow extremely fast as well.The patient, Dr Karthikeyan, said “After 4-5 days in Mysuru, I showed improvement and was weaned off the ventilator and put on oxygen support. This is when I began to develop pain in the right side of the face and got terrible headache.”