Incidental detection of microfilaria in various autopsy specimens: A study at tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Background: Autopsy examinations are necessary to rule out cause of death, and simultaneously, it also detects incidental pathologies which might not be a leading cause of death. Till date, no one has reported autopsy examination utility for the detection of microfilaria burden. In this retrospective study, we analyzed cases with incidental finding of asymptomatic cases of microfilaria. Objectives: Our main aim was to highlight its burden within the region of South Gujarat where filariasis is endemic despite various government programs to control and eradicate it. Materials and Methods: We have analyzed the autopsy reporting data during the period of January 2013–December 2013 from a tertiary care hospital of South Gujarat. Along with tissue section, we also processed blood clot from heart chambers for microscopic examination to confirm diagnosis. Results: A total of 19 cases of 607 autopsy cases showed the presence of microfilaria in various organs such as heart, lung, liver, spleen, kidney, and brain without any tissue reaction. All sections from blood clot showed the presence of circulating microfilaria in positive cases. Among all organ sections, we were able to get it most commonly in the heart interstitial spaces in majority of the cases. Conclusion: This study showed 3.1% prevalence of asymptomatic circulating microfilaria cases. This can be one of the ways to measure the prevalence of microfilaria in endemic regions as routine screening and diagnostic procedure has their known limitations. The technique to find microfilaria can be also strengthened by microscopic examination of blood clot from heart chamber or heart auricles.