ACQUIRED IMMUNODEFICIENCY SYNDROME - CLINICOPATHOLOGIC STUDY OF 56 AUTOPSIES

Abstract

A study of 56 patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) who underwent autopsy at the New York University Medical Center (New York, USA) revealed several entities that were not previously described or emphasized in prior series. These were as follows: 3 cases of necrotizing arteritis whith cytomegalovirus inclusions; dissemination in 95% of cases of Kaposi''s sarcoma; unusual clinical and histologic presentations of Kaposi''s sarcoma presenting diagnostic difficulties for both clinicians and pathologists; and a very high incidence of serious nonmycobacterial infections. Previous autopsy studies have disagreed over such matters as the incidence of disseminated candidiasis, hemophagocytosis, and severe adrenal necrosis in AIDS. All of these studies, except 1, involved 10-12 cases each. This study of 56 cases helps to resolve these disagreements.