Cutaneous disease is the third most frequent manifestation of mucormycosis. The clinical manifestations of and subsequent mortality due to cutaneous mucormycosis are dependent on the mode of acquisition and the host immune status. Here, we describe the epidemiology, clinical presentation, microbiology, and outcomes of 16 cutaneous mucormycosis infections managed in an Australian tertiary hospital over a 15-year period. The proportion with localized (56%), deep (38%), and disseminated (6%) cutaneous disease as well as the overall mortality (25%) were consistent with findings reported in the published literature. Two novel forms of hospital-acquired infection were reported following a sacral pressure sore and insertion of a foreign body during a bone graft procedure. The majority of patients were immunocompetent (75%) and/or suffered trauma (56%) with associated environmental contamination. A novel finding was that motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) accounted for 78% of all trauma-related cases, suggesting MVAs should receive greater recognition as a potential precipitant of cutaneous mucormycosis. Aggressive decontamination and debridement of devitalized tissue following trauma is therefore likely to play an important role in the prevention of this rare but potentially devastating infection.

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Backgrounds Surgical site infections (SSI) are a significant cause of postoperative morbidity and mortality, contributing to a considerable financial burden on the healthcare system. Insufflation of the open surgical wound with warm, humidified carbon dioxide (CO2) is a novel measure aimed to reduce SSI. The local atmosphere of warm, humidified CO2 within the open surgical wound is proposed to decrease airborne contamination, bacterial growth, desiccation, and heat loss while improving tissue oxygenation and perfusion. This randomized controlled trial evaluates the impact of the HumiGard™ surgical humidification system on the incidence of SSI in patients undergoing open colorectal surgery. Methods We conducted a multi‐site single‐blinded randomized control trial on patients undergoing elective or emergency laparotomy at a single tertiary Colorectal Surgery service. The primary outcome measure was the incidence of SSI, with secondary outcomes including ICU length of stay (LOS), total LOS and mean core temperature. Results Patients who received HumiGard™ had a lower incidence of SSI, although this did not reach statistical significance (4.5% for treatment group versus 13.0% for control group; P = 0.092). There was no significant difference in ICU LOS or total LOS between cohorts. The HumiGard™ group had a higher mean core temperature than the control at the end of surgery (P < 0.001). Conclusion The present study could not confirm that utilization of warm, humidified CO2 with HumiGard™ reduces SSI in open colorectal surgery. Further research is indicated to validate and extend these findings.