INTRAOPERATIVE FROZEN SECTION IN DIAGNOSING ACUTE INVASIVE FUNGAL RHINOSINUSITIS.

Acute invasive fungal rhinosinusitis (AIFRS) is a life threatening infection inspite of aggressive multimodal therapy which includes extensive surgical debridement of nose and paranasal sinuses, orbital exenteration, and antifungal therapy. The most commonly observed fungi are Aspergillus and Mucor. Because of the increase in AIFRS in post-COVID-19 patients after the second wave, the present study is based on a comparison of intraoperative frozen sections with standard conventional histopathology to assess the sensitivity and specificity of frozen sections and to standardize the technique to aid in the diagnosis of fungal sinusitis. AIFRS needs aggressive and extensive, sometimes disfiguring surgical debridement followed by chemotherapy with toxic fungal drugs to save the patient's life. Hence, an early accurate diagnosis is highly useful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]