COVID-19, rejection, and cutaneous mucormycosis in a long-term liver transplant recipient - the vicious cycle of immunosuppression and opportunistic infections

Abstract

Opportunistic infections, including fungal infections, are dreaded complications of liver transplantation, particularly early after transplant. We describe the case of a patient that presented 6 years after liver transplant with a Lichtheimia corymbifera-infected leg ulcer, following previous COVID-19 infection and moderate rejection requiring steroid pulses. The patient required long-term antifungal therapy, repeated surgical debridement and eventually wound coverage with meshed split-thickness skin graft. Our case illustrates the challenges in the treatment of cutaneous mucormycosis and highlights the difficulties in achieving an accurate balance between the risk of opportunistic infections and rejection in this population.

Keywords: COVID-19; Immunosuppression; Liver transplantation; Mucormycosis; Opportunistic infections.