Vibrio vulnificus Sepsis: An Autopsy Case

Joo-Young Na; Jeong-Woo Park; Yeon-Ho Oh; Eu-Ree Ahn; Hyung-Seok Kim; Jong-Tae Park; Gi-Yeong Huh

doi:10.7580/kjlm.2015.39.2.45

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Na, Park, Oh, Ahn, Kim, Park, and Huh: Vibrio vulnificus Sepsis: An Autopsy Case

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Korean J Leg Med 2015;39(2):45-48.

Published online: 17 January 2015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7580/kjlm.2015.39.2.45

Vibrio vulnificus Sepsis: An Autopsy Case

Joo-Young Na¹, Jeong-Woo Park¹, Yeon-Ho Oh¹, Eu-Ree Ahn², Hyung-Seok Kim³, Jong-Tae Park³, Gi-Yeong Huh⁴

¹Forensic Medicine Division, Gwangju Institute, National Forensic Service, Jangseong, Korea

²Forensic DNA Division, National Forensic Service, Wonju, Korea

³Department of Forensic Medicine, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea

⁴Institute of Forensic Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea

Correspondence to Joo-Young Na Forensic Medicine Division, Gwangju Institute, National Forensic Service, 687 Chungnyeong-ro, Seosam-myeon, Jangseong 515-822, Korea Tel: +82-61-393-8442 Fax: +82-61-393-8440 E-mail: pdrdream@gmail.com

Received 22 April 2015 Revised 1 May 2015 Accepted 8 May 2015

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Vibrio vulnificus infection can lead to the rapid expansion of cellulitis or sepsis and can be lethal. Vibrio vulnificus is transmitted through seawater or ingestion of raw or undercooked shellfish. We experienced an uncommon case of death due to Vibrio sepsis, which was confirmed by autopsy. A 56-year-old man who was a sailor was found dead in a fishing boat. Autopsy was performed 3 days later. External examination revealed a few blisters and erythematous lesions on both legs. Internal examination revealed a fatty liver and edema of the legs. The skin lesions on the legs showed blisters that extended from the epidermis to the dermis, accompanied by massive acute inflammation in the dermis and subcutaneous tissue with multinuclear giant cells, as noted on the histologic examination. Vibrio vulnificus was isolated from postmortem blood and subcutaneous tissue of the leg. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first autopsy case in Korea in which Vibrio vulnificus was isolated from postmortem blood. Herein, we present a case of sepsis due to Vibrio vulnificus which was confirmed by autopsy, pathological findings, and postmortem microbiological culture.

Keywords: Autopsy, Vibrio vulnificus, Sepsis, Pathology, Microbiology

REFERENCES

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Fig. 1.

Blisters and erythematous lesions on the both legs are noted.

Fig. 2.

(A) Skin lesion of the leg shows a blister from the epidermis to the dermis and acute inflammation in the dermis (H&E, ×50). (B) Multinuclear giant cell with acute inflammation is noted in the subcutaneous tissue (H&E, ×100). (C) Liver shows a fatty degeneration and periportal chronic inflammation (H&E, × 100).

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