Group B streptococcus infection in a sudden unexpected death of infancy – the importance of microbiological investigation at post-mortem

Group B streptococcus (GBS) is a common cause of infection in newborns and in early infants. However, GBS infection in an infant older than three months is infrequently reported in the literature. We reported a case of an apparently well six-month-old infant who died of sudden death due to GBS pneum...

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Main Authors: N., Khalid, Khairul Anuar, Zainun, Hisham, Salina, N. I., Mazan, Amin Nordin, Syafinaz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine 2018
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/74467/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/74467/1/Group%20B%20streptococcus%20infection%20in%20a%20sudden%20unexpected%20death%20of%20infancy%20.pdf
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author N., Khalid
Khairul Anuar, Zainun
Hisham, Salina
N. I., Mazan
Amin Nordin, Syafinaz
author_facet N., Khalid
Khairul Anuar, Zainun
Hisham, Salina
N. I., Mazan
Amin Nordin, Syafinaz
author_sort N., Khalid
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Group B streptococcus (GBS) is a common cause of infection in newborns and in early infants. However, GBS infection in an infant older than three months is infrequently reported in the literature. We reported a case of an apparently well six-month-old infant who died of sudden death due to GBS pneumonia, diagnosed at autopsy. The six-month-old, apparently well male infant was brought in dead to the Emergency Department. He underwent medicolegal autopsy four hours after death, as part of an overall sudden unexpected death in infancy investigation (SUDI). Apart from whitish froth oozing out of both nostrils, he appeared to be well-nourished infant without any deformity, syndromic features or obvious suspicious marks of injury externally. Internal examination showed generalized hyperinflated with patchy consolidation of upper and middle lobes of bilateral lung. Multiple matted mesenteric lymphadenopathy were also detected. Blood and lung tissue specimens collected under aseptic technique yielded growth of GBS. Post-mortem histology from consolidated lungs confirmed pneumonic features while mesenteric lymph nodes showed reactive changes in-keeping with underlying infective process. Death was attributed to GBS pneumonia. This case highlights the importance of a detailed autopsy in sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI) and the crucial role of post-mortem microbiological study in such cases. Relevant autopsy protocols that need to be employed during microbiological sampling are briefly discussed.
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spelling upm-744672021-08-07T09:34:32Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/74467/ Group B streptococcus infection in a sudden unexpected death of infancy – the importance of microbiological investigation at post-mortem N., Khalid Khairul Anuar, Zainun Hisham, Salina N. I., Mazan Amin Nordin, Syafinaz Group B streptococcus (GBS) is a common cause of infection in newborns and in early infants. However, GBS infection in an infant older than three months is infrequently reported in the literature. We reported a case of an apparently well six-month-old infant who died of sudden death due to GBS pneumonia, diagnosed at autopsy. The six-month-old, apparently well male infant was brought in dead to the Emergency Department. He underwent medicolegal autopsy four hours after death, as part of an overall sudden unexpected death in infancy investigation (SUDI). Apart from whitish froth oozing out of both nostrils, he appeared to be well-nourished infant without any deformity, syndromic features or obvious suspicious marks of injury externally. Internal examination showed generalized hyperinflated with patchy consolidation of upper and middle lobes of bilateral lung. Multiple matted mesenteric lymphadenopathy were also detected. Blood and lung tissue specimens collected under aseptic technique yielded growth of GBS. Post-mortem histology from consolidated lungs confirmed pneumonic features while mesenteric lymph nodes showed reactive changes in-keeping with underlying infective process. Death was attributed to GBS pneumonia. This case highlights the importance of a detailed autopsy in sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI) and the crucial role of post-mortem microbiological study in such cases. Relevant autopsy protocols that need to be employed during microbiological sampling are briefly discussed. Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine 2018 Article PeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/74467/1/Group%20B%20streptococcus%20infection%20in%20a%20sudden%20unexpected%20death%20of%20infancy%20.pdf N., Khalid and Khairul Anuar, Zainun and Hisham, Salina and N. I., Mazan and Amin Nordin, Syafinaz (2018) Group B streptococcus infection in a sudden unexpected death of infancy – the importance of microbiological investigation at post-mortem. Tropical Biomedicine, 35 (3). 604 - 609. ISSN 0127-5720 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33601747/
spellingShingle N., Khalid
Khairul Anuar, Zainun
Hisham, Salina
N. I., Mazan
Amin Nordin, Syafinaz
Group B streptococcus infection in a sudden unexpected death of infancy – the importance of microbiological investigation at post-mortem
title Group B streptococcus infection in a sudden unexpected death of infancy – the importance of microbiological investigation at post-mortem
title_full Group B streptococcus infection in a sudden unexpected death of infancy – the importance of microbiological investigation at post-mortem
title_fullStr Group B streptococcus infection in a sudden unexpected death of infancy – the importance of microbiological investigation at post-mortem
title_full_unstemmed Group B streptococcus infection in a sudden unexpected death of infancy – the importance of microbiological investigation at post-mortem
title_short Group B streptococcus infection in a sudden unexpected death of infancy – the importance of microbiological investigation at post-mortem
title_sort group b streptococcus infection in a sudden unexpected death of infancy – the importance of microbiological investigation at post-mortem
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/74467/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/74467/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/74467/1/Group%20B%20streptococcus%20infection%20in%20a%20sudden%20unexpected%20death%20of%20infancy%20.pdf