Postmortem Bacteriology: III. Clinical Significance of Microorganisms Recovered at Autopsy

Abstract

1,285 bacterial cultures were obtained from 396 routine autopsies performed at the Denver Presbyterian Medical Center from March 1969 to June 1971, yielding 1,428 strains of microorganisms. A single species was retrieved from 42% of specimens; in only 8% were three or more recovered, suggesting minimal postmortem spread or contamination. More bacteria were recovered from subjects with neoplastic diseases compared with those with cardiovascular problems. There was little correlation between individual species and types of disease, physical signs, temperature curves, or use of chemotherapeutic agents and antibiotics. In 42% of cases in which bacteria recovered from the lungs postmortem could be compared with corresponding antemortem sputum samples, different bacterial species were recovered. This lack of identity also pertained when comparing one organ with another in the same subject, suggesting that organs act independently in their ability to reject bacteria. It is theorized that man harbors indigenous visceral microflora which may be the source of most clinical infections.