Journal article
The Postmortem Features of Mucormycosis
Academic forensic pathology, Vol.10(2), pp.72-80
06/2020
DOI: 10.1177/1925362120960918
PMCID: PMC7691937
PMID: 33282040
Abstract
Mucormycosis is a rare and severe invasive fungal infection caused by ubiquitous fungi of the order Mucorales. Infection often occurs in immunocompromised hosts and includes cutaneous, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, rhinocerebral, and disseminated forms of disease. Although the clinical characteristics of mucormycosis are well established, infection can be difficult to diagnose antemortem, resulting in frequent postmortem diagnoses. Despite this, the gross appearance of mucormycosis at autopsy has not been well described. In the present report we illustrate the gross and histologic findings in four autopsy cases of mucormycosis, including one case of pulmonary disease and three cases of disseminated mucormycosis with cerebral, pulmonary, hepatic, renal, and gastrointestinal involvement. In all cases autopsy examination demonstrated characteristic hemorrhagic infarcts with a targetoid appearance in the affected organs. These findings are secondary to fungal angioinvasion with subsequent thrombosis and tissue necrosis. Mucormycosis should be suspected at autopsy when these characteristic infarcts are identified within the proper clinical context, and a high suspicion for atypical infections should be maintained postmortem in immunosuppressed patients.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The Postmortem Features of Mucormycosis
- Creators
- Tracy S HalvorsonAlexandra L IsaacsonBradley A FordDennis J Firchau
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Academic forensic pathology, Vol.10(2), pp.72-80
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- DOI
- 10.1177/1925362120960918
- PMID
- 33282040
- PMCID
- PMC7691937
- ISSN
- 1925-3621
- eISSN
- 1925-3621
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 06/2020
- Academic Unit
- Pathology
- Record Identifier
- 9984186654602771
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