Disseminated invasive aspergillosis in a prolonged stay in the intensive care unit

Abstract

Aspergillus is a common cause of invasive mycosis, especially in immunocompromised individuals. We report the case of a 62-year-old male who was hospitalized after suffering severe physical injuries and died after few weeks of hospitalization. A medicolegal autopsy was conducted, and various organs were sent for histopathological examination of which heart, lungs, and kidneys showed extensive involvement by aspergillus. Thus, a diagnosis of disseminated invasive aspergillosis was made on autopsy, which itself is a rare entity. This case report illustrates a prolonged stay in the intensive care unit as a possible risk factor for the development of disseminated aspergillosis.

Stance of pathology residents on declining number of autopsies

“…All the autopsy case reports published in A&CR journal highlight the educational value of the autopsies. Only within last year fascinating autopsy cases such as coronary amyloidosis, 4 disseminated aspergillosis, 5 gastrointestinal cytomegalovirus disease, 6 Morquio syndrome associated with gastric adenocarcinoma, 7 mycotic aneurysm with aortoduodenal fistula, 8 miliary tuberculosis in a renal transplant recipient, 9 disseminated toxoplasmosis diagnosed at autopsy, 10 Eisenmenger syndrome, 11 holoprosencephaly, 12 bone marrow necrosis and fat embolism syndrome in a patient with hemoglobinopathy, 13 pancreatic hamartoma in a premature Trisomy 18 female, 14 and intravascular large B-cell lymphoma 15 were published in A&CR. Moreover, pediatric autopsies usually reveal an undiagnosed entity and may highlight familial disorders which can help parents to plan future pregnancies accordingly.…”

One Year with Autopsy and Case Reports: An Immense Educational Experience

“…Autopsy cases section of the journal focuses of detailed autopsy findings of rare and unusual causes of death. Thorough and intrigue discussion about a number of unusual causes of death including coronary amyloidosis, 10 disseminated aspergillosis, 11 gastrointestinal cytomegalovirus disease, 12 Morquio syndrome associated with gastric adenocarcinoma, 13 mycotic aneurysm with aortoduodenal fistula, 14 miliary tuberculosis in a renal transplant recipient, 15 disseminated toxoplasmosis diagnosed at autopsy 16 and thymic teratoma causing non-immune hydrops fetalis, 17 can be found in this section. Again, these are just a few examples from a long list of cases available in the archives.…”