title: Viral Pneumonias in Forensic Autopsies: Evaluation and Classification of Histopathologic Changes With Microbiologic Correlation.
abstract: Lower respiratory infections are commonly due to viruses and are the third largest cause of death. Respiratory tract viruses have a tendency to target the specific regions in the lung and can harm the host via direct effect of the virus and the host's inflammatory response. In this study, relationships between morphologic changes in the lung and the viral agent type isolated in the lung by the polymerase chain reaction technique were investigated. This study was performed retrospectively at 113 autopsy cases in the Council of Forensic Medicine in Istanbul. Slides from the lung tissues diagnosed as interstitial pneumonia and detected viral agent in polymerase chain reaction were evaluated and reviewed under light microscope by 2 pathologists simultaneously according to predetermined bronchiolar, alveolar, and interstitial findings. Alveolar findings were detected in 108 cases (95.6%), whereas interstitial and bronchiolar findings were detected in 91 (80.5%) and 38 (33.6%) cases, respectively. Intra-alveolar edema was the most common alveolar finding. Some findings such as multinucleated syncytial cells and smudge cells can aid the search for etiologic agent. Interstitial inflammation was the most common histopathologic finding in the lung in viral infections and the most prominent clue to viral infections in the lung histopathologically without discrimination of viral agent type.
authors.affiliation: From the *Pathology Department, The Ministry of Justice, Forensic Council of Turkey; †Department of Pathology, Okmeydani Training and Research Hospital; ‡Department of Postmortem Microbiology, The Ministry of Justice, Forensic Council of Turkey; §Pathology Department, Umraniye Training and Research Hospital; ∥Morgue Department, The Ministry of Justice, Forensic Council of Turkey; and ¶Department of Medical Sciences, Institute of Forensic Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Taner
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Daş
authors.forename: Aytül
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sargan
authors.forename: Gülhan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yağmur
authors.forename: Muzaffer
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yildirim
authors.forename: Cumhur Selçuk
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Topal
authors.forename: Ahmet Selçuk
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Gürler
authors.forename: Hizir
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Asliyüksek
authors.forename: Murat Nihat
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Arslan
authors.forename: Rifat
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Özdemirel
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005355:Fibrosis / Q000473:pathology; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007249:Inflammation / Q000473:pathology; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D011024:Pneumonia, Viral / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D011654:Pulmonary Edema / Q000473:pathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies