Open AccessAn Autopsy Case of Purulent Mycobacterial Meningitis in AIDS
Author(s) -
Shintaku Masayuki,
Sasaki Masamichi,
Senzaki Hideto,
Morii Sotokichi,
Maruoka Masanori,
Ueda Yoshihiro
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
acta patholigica japonica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.73
H-Index - 74
ISSN - 0001-6632
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1827.1991.tb01635.x
Subject(s) - autopsy , medicine , meningitis , pathology , surgery
The patient was a 46 year old male hemophiliac who died of acute mycobacterial meningitis associated with AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome). Autopsy revealed severe basal meningitis which was characterized by an infiltration of numerous polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Severe mural inflammation of the subarachnoid arteries was noted, and innumerable acid‐fast bacilli were demonstrated. Epithelioid cell granulomas were not found in the meningeal lesion. The lungs, liver, spleen, and bone marrow contained many epithelioid cell granulomas with caseous necrosis. Massive proliferation of swollen histiocytes could not be identified in any organ. The absence of epithelioid cell granulomas in the meningeal lesion indicate a severe impairment of cell‐mediated immunity in the patient; this anergic type of lesion is one of the characteristics of tuberculosis occurring in association with terminal AIDS. Acta Pathol Jpn 41: 895‐899, 1991.