Korean J Leg Med.  2014 May;38(2):78-82. 10.7580/kjlm.2014.38.2.78.

Infective Endocarditis: An Autopsy Case Report with Literature Review

• Na JY
• Cho WY
• Park JW
• Choi YD
• Kim HS
• Park JT

• KMID: 1849357
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.7580/kjlm.2014.38.2.78

Abstract

A 69-year-old man was admitted to the hospital because of flu-like symptoms and fatigue for 2 weeks. Computed tomography revealed ground glass opacity and consolidation in both the lungs as well as pleural effusion. The patient was diagnosed with pneumonia and was hospitalized. At the time of hospitalization, he complained of shortness of breath and coughed-up blood-tinged sputum. Two days after admission, he died suddenly. An autopsy was performed; cardiomegaly was noted, and further examination revealed that the aortic valve had been destroyed by multiple, irregular vegetations. Herein, we report an autopsy case of infective endocarditis with a review of the relevant literatures.

Keyword

Infective endocarditis; Forensic; Autopsy

MeSH Terms

Aged
Aortic Valve
Autopsy*
Cardiomegaly
Dyspnea
Endocarditis*
Fatigue
Glass
Hospitalization
Humans
Lung
Pleural Effusion
Pneumonia
Sputum

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1. Destroyed aortic cusps and vegetations, measuring up to 1.2 × 0.7 ㎝ are noted. Cross sections of the myocardium show multiple patch-like fibrotic lesions.

• 

  Fig. 2. Microscopically, the aortic valve demonstrated friable vegetations comprising fibrin and platelets mixed with inflammatory cells and bacteria (H&E, × 100).

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