The anatomic substrate of irreversible airway obstruction and barotrauma in a case of hurricane-triggered fatal status asthmaticus during puerperium: Lessons from an autopsy.

ABSTRACT: Non-fully reversible airway obstruction in fatal asthma is often seen in association with profound structural changes of the bronchial wall, termed airway remodeling. Evidence suggests that heavy precipitation events can trigger epidemics of severe asthma. We present a case of fatal asthma in a young woman with no prior near-fatal exacerbations and postulate that the patient's extensive airway remodeling and puerperal state (susceptibility factors), in combination with a massive allergen challenge during a hurricane landfall (triggering factor), played a central role in her death. The autopsy revealed diffuse obstruction of proximal and distal bronchi by mucous plugs together with transmural chronic inflammation, tissue eosinophilia, extensive goblet cell hyperplasia with MUC-5 expression

SUBMITTER: Febres-Aldana CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6306954 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature