Surgical site infection caused by Rhizopus caespitosus after metastasectomy for osteosarcoma: First report of infection in humans.

This article focuses on a rare case of surgical site infection (SSI) caused by Rhizopus caespitosus, a fungus not previously reported as pathogenic to humans, in an immunocompromised 11-year-old boy undergoing treatment for relapsed osteosarcoma. The infection was identified through wound culture and molecular testing, leading to a diagnosis of mucormycosis, and was managed with prolonged liposomal amphotericin B therapy due to the fungus’s drug susceptibility profile and the patient’s clinical condition. The report highlights the rarity of fungal SSIs in pediatric neurosurgery and solid tumor chemotherapy, emphasizing the need to consider fungal pathogens in immunocompromised patients with postoperative infections.