Autopsy cases of terminal pulmonary infections

Abstract

In order to clarify the present state of terminal pulmonary infections, all autopsy cases from 1976 to 1985 reported in the annual records of autopsy cases in Kyushu University Hospital were reviewed. Of the total of 2,238 autopsy cases, pulmonary infections were present in 1,042 (46.6%) and in 595 (26.6%) pulmonary infections were fatal. Among the primary diseases associated with pulmonary infections, hematologic diseases such as leukemia and malignant lymphoma, lung cancer, esophageal cancer and cerebrovascular disease were most frequent. The pathogens of fatal pulmonary infections occurring in autopsy cases were bacteria (26.6%), Aspergillus (3.2%), Candida (1.8%), cytomegalovirus (1.7%), Pneumocystis carinii (1.1%), Mycobacterium (0.9%), Cryptococcus (0.6%) and phycomycetes (0.1%). The incidence of non-bacterial, especially fungal, pulmonary infections has increased during the recent five-year period. Among the pulmonary infections associated with lung cancer in autopsy cases, mycobacteriosis occurred more frequently than fungal infection. The incidence of fatal mycobacteriosis was more frequent in cases receiving steroids than in those not receiving steroids. Antemortem diagnosis of pulmonary infections was made in only 4.6% and 26.3% of cases of non-bacterial infection and mycobacteriosis, respectively. There was no autopsy case diagnosed before death as aspergillosis, which most frequently occurred among the fungal pulmonary infections in autopsy cases.