Aortic lesions in aspergillosis: histopathological study of two autopsy cases

Abstract

The involvement of the aorta in aspergillosis is relatively rare, and its histopathological features have not been described in detail. In two autopsy cases of invasive aspergillosis in immunologically compromised patients with hematological disorders, the aspergillotic lesions of the aorta showed different characteristic histopathological features depending on the three layers of aortic wall. Intimal lesions were formations of the mural thrombus composed of aggregates of numerous fungal hyphae arranged perpendicularly to the aortic wall. In the media, smooth muscle cells were completely necrotic (anemic infarct of the media), while the framework of elastic fibers was well preserved, with only a few fungal hyphae detected. In the adventitia, an intense, partly granulomatous chronic inflammatory change with fibrosis was observed in association with mycotic embolic occlusion of the vasa vasorum. These histopathological changes were considered to represent one of the typical tissue reaction patterns in the wall of an elastic artery in aspergillosis.

Invasive aspergillosis in the aortic arch with infectious Aspergillus lesions in pulmonary bullae

“…A histopathological study of aortic lesions in aspergillosis in immunologically compromised patients with hematological disorders showed formation of a mural thrombus in the intima, complete necrosis of smooth muscle cells in the media, and granulomatous chronic inflammatory change in the adventia [5] . Extensive necrotic lesions in the media of the aortic wall with Aspergillus hyphae were also observed in our case.…”