Unexpected Death by Sepsis of Staphylococcus aureus with Infective Endocarditis and Paravertebral Abscess in a Fisherman during Sailing out for Fish: An Autopsy Case

Department of Forensic Medicine, Chosun University School of Medicine, Gwangju, Korea, Forensic DNA Division, National Forensic Service, Wonju, Korea, Forensic Medicine Division, National Forensic Service Gwangju Institute, Jangseong, Korea

E-mail: ysk007fm@hotmail.com

Staphylococcus aureus is an important cause of human infections, and it is also a commensal that colonizes the nose, axillae, vagina, throat, or skin surfaces. S. aureus has increasingly been recognized as a cause of severe invasive illness, and individuals colonized with this pathogen are subsequently at increased risk of its infections. S. aureus infection is a major cause of skin, soft tissue, respiratory, bone, joint, and endovascular disorders, and staphylococcal bacteremia may cause abscess, endocarditis, pneumonia, metastatic infection, foreign body infection, or sepsis. The authors describe a case of a fisherman who died of sepsis on a fishing boat during sailing out for fish. The autopsy shows paravertebral abscess, pus in the pericardial sac, infective endocarditis with vegetation on the aortic valve cusp, myocarditis, pneumonia and nephritis with bacterial colonization, and also liver cirrhosis and multiple gastric ulcerations.

Key Words: Staphylococcus aureus; Sepsis; Endocarditis; Paravertebral abscess; Autopsy