Objective To compare and analyze clinical and pathological data of autopsyconfirmed invasive
fungal disease (IFD) in
elderly patients in order to achieve a better
understanding of the clinical and pathological characteristics of IFD.
Methods A total of 18 cases of IFD were diagnosed by
autopsy from 1984 to 2014 at
Beijing Hospital.Clinical and pathological data of IFD,including
risk factors,clinical manifestation,
X-ray and pathological characteristics,were analyzed retrospectively.Results The 18 cases were all
male wvith an average age of (83.7±7.2) years and each
patient had at least one
risk factor for IFD.Of them,14
patients (77.8%) suffered
malignancies of various origins.With
respect to the pathogens,
Mucor (6 cases) was the most common one,followed by Aspergilla (4 cases),Mycotoruloides (4 cases) and Cryptococci (2 cases).The
lung was the most frequently implicated organ wvith 13 cases (72.2%),followed by the
gastrointestinal tract.Vascular
erosion was an important pathological characteristic of
fungal infection,whose presentations included
vasculitis,
hemorrhage and
embolism in
tissues and organs.14
patients died from
fungal infection-related causes,of which.massive
hemorrhage as a result of vascular
erosion by
fungal infection was responsible for four
patients' deaths.Conclusions
Malignancies are an important
risk factor for invasive
fungal disease in
elderly patients.Vascular
erosion is a significant
character of
fungal infection.