Abstract
Agonal bacteremia, diagnosed with postmortem positive blood culture results, is considered a possible contributing factor to death. We hypothesized that some premortem organ damage, such as kidney damage, can enhance agonal bacteremia. We performed a postmortem blood and alveolar fluid culture study in 30 cadavers and evaluated the relationship between blood culture results and clinical parameters, including organ damage (brain, heart, lung, kidney, liver and gastrointestinal tract). A total of 23 cases (76.7%) were positive for blood culture; the number of cultured species was one in 12 cases, two in 7 cases, and three in 4 cases. The ratio of agonal bacteremia was significantly higher in patients with heart damage (100%, n=13) and those with kidney damage (end-stage kidney damage, acute kidney injury, obstructive kidney failure, or metastatic kidney tumours) (100%, n=13). The mean number of cultured species was 0.67±0.98 in heart or kidney damage, 1.40±0.55 in heart damage only, 1.40±0.55 in kidney damage only, and 2.00±0.93 in heart and kidney damage. As the number of damaged organs increased (0 organs, no heart/kidney damage; 1 organ, heart or kidney damage; and 2 organs, heart and kidney damage), the mean number of cultured species increased significantly (p for trend=0.001964). Premortem kidney damage relates to agonal bacteremia.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.