Primary abdominal gas gangrene: a report of two autopsy cases

Primary hepatic gas gangrene is a form of primary abdominal gas gangrene. The condition is caused by Clostridium perfringens, other clostridia, and non-clostridia bacterial species producing gas. Unlike classical gas gangrene or myonecrosis, the disease develops without a wound or a port of entry. Instead, gas-producing bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract colonize an underlying pathological process with foci of necrosis, producing excessive gas and spreading hematogenously to other organs. Herein we present two autopsy cases of primary hepatic gas gangrene diagnosed on autopsy, with the gross and histological changes that can be considered specific for this rare condition. Both patients had severe underlying liver disease-prone for this entity development. The gross changes in the cases are postmortem subcutaneous emphysema, skin bullae with pooled blood, pneumothorax, pneumoabdomen, abundant gas in the circulatory system, porous structure of the internal organs (tissue gas bubbles), and advanced tissue lysis, not corresponding to the post mortem time. Histology showed optically empty areas of varying size in the internal organs, which weave the structure of the organs and rod-shaped bacteria with scarcity or complete absence of inflammatory reaction.

Gangrena gaseosa de la mama / Gas gangrene of the breast

La gangrena gaseosa de la mama es una enfermedad rara y potencialmente mortal descrita como consecuencia de un traumatismo, por complicaciones infecciosas de la cirugía o por una trombosis venosa. También se ha relacionado ocasionalmente con otras causas tales como la diabetes mellitus, el envenenamiento con monóxido de carbono o la cirugía plástica. Presentamos un caso de gangrena gaseosa de mama en una mujer diabética de 74 años. Esta rara infección representa una emergencia médico-quirúrgica(AU)

Gas gangrene of the breast is a rare and potentially lethal disease following trauma, as a result of infectious complications from surgery or venous thrombosis. Other rare etiologies, such as diabetes mellitus, carbon monoxide poisoning, and plastic surgery, have also been reported as related to this illness. A case of gas gangrene of the breast found in a 74-year-old diabetic woman was presented in this paper. This rare infection is a medical and surgical emergency situation(AU)

Clostridial sepsis: is death avoidable?

Massive intravascular hemolysis is a rare yet often fatal complication of clostridial sepsis. The only chance for survival is an early diagnosis and prompt initiation of treatment. We report a rapidly fatal case who developed electrocardiographic changes of acute myocardial injury. Autopsy showed gas-filled bubbles and cysts in the myocardium partially filled with sporulating bacilli with the morphology of clostridia. Gas filled bubbles were also present in the lungs, liver, kidneys and spleen. The gastric mucosa showed hemorrhagic and necrotizing changes, the probable site of entry of the infection