Acquired immune deficiency syndrome: report of an autopsy case

Authors report the first autopsy case of acquired immune deficiency syndrome in Korea. The patient was a 26 years old Korean male who died of respiratory failure due to mixed pulmonary infections. He had history of homosexual contacts with partners of both domestic and foreign nationalities. Initial presentation was unexplained fever for two months. Serological test and western blot test for anti-HIV were positive and T-cell subset analysis revealed T3/T4/T8 to be 73/8/67%. Pulmonary tuberculosis with mediastinal lymphadenopathy and esophagonadal fistula and oral candidiasis were presented. Respiratory infection progressed gradually and he died seven months after the initial symptom. Autopsy findings were generalized severe lymphoid cell depletion, especially of T-cell population and mixed pulmonary infections with Pneumocystis carinii and cytomegalovirus (CMV). The CMV infection involved lungs and adrenals. Oral candidiasis was also demonstrated.