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How is post-mortem microbiology appraised by pathologists? Results from a practice survey conducted by ESGFOR

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Abstract

Post-mortem microbiology (PMM) is an important tool in forensic pathology, assisting to determine the cause and manner of death. However, there is a lack of standardisation of PMM sampling. In order to get a better insight into the methods used, the available technical options and developmental needs, ESCMID Study Group for Forensic and Postmortem Microbiology (ESGFOR) members designed a survey aimed at pathologists regarding common practices of PMM in clinical and forensic autopsies. Multiple choice questions were developed based on Cumulative Techniques and Procedures in Clinical Microbiology (Cumitech). The questionnaire was sent to pathologists mainly across Europe and Turkey using SurveyMonkey. The survey had 147 respondents. Although all pathologists were aware of the existence of PMM, 39% (19/49) of the participants were not using it. The three main indications for PMM were: (i) clinical suspicion of an infection not confirmed antemortem (83%), (ii) infectious signs at autopsy (83%) and (iii) as part of a standard protocol for foetal/perinatal or paediatric death (67%). Almost 80% of the participants using PMM stated taking 1–10 samples per case. Of the requested examinations, a general bacteriological culture (96%) and a specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for a particular infectious agent (34%) were most popular. The most frequent samples were: heart blood (66%), peripheral femoral blood (49%), spleen (64%) and lung (56%). Eighty-nine percent of the participants considered PMM a useful resource when investigating the cause of death. Although there are some common uses, this survey indicates that there is a need for improvement towards standardising sampling procedures in PMM.

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to all the forensic and clinical pathologists who participated in the survey. This survey was presented as an ePoster at the 26th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 9–12 April 2016 (EV-0611).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, K.U. Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    V. Saegeman

  2. Laboratory Medicine, University Hospitals Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    V. Saegeman

  3. Histopathology Department, Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, UK

    M. C. Cohen

  4. Microbiology Service, University Hospital Dr. Peset Valencia, School of Medicine, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

    J. Alberola

  5. Postmortem Mikrobiyoloji Laboratuvarı, Adalet Bakanlığı Adli Tıp Kurumu, Bahçelievler/İstanbul, Turkey

    N. Ziyade

  6. Microbiology Institute, ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy

    C. Farina

  7. Department of Diagnostics and Public Health, University of Verona, Verona, Italy

    G. Cornaglia

  8. Microbiology Laboratory, Biology Department, Instituto Nacional de Toxicología y Ciencias Forenses, Las Rozas de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    A. Fernández-Rodríguez

Authors
  1. V. Saegeman
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  2. M. C. Cohen
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  3. J. Alberola
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  4. N. Ziyade
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  5. C. Farina
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  6. G. Cornaglia
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  7. A. Fernández-Rodríguez
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Consortia

ESCMID Study Group for Forensic and Postmortem Microbiology

  • Wafa Achour
  • , Laurent Andréoletti
  • , Ana Arribi
  • , Alda Bazaj
  • , Neval Elgormüs
  • , Inés González
  • , Aysel Karatas
  • , Fernando Lázaro Perona
  • , Stephen L. Leib
  • , Miguel J. Martinez-Yoldi
  • , Irene Merino
  • , Catherine Moore
  • , Jacob Moran-Gilad
  • , Mario Poljak
  • , Katja Seme
  • , An Tamsin
  • , Wouter Van Den Bogaert
  • , Gülhan Yagmur
  •  & Ovidiu Mircea Zlatian

Corresponding author

Correspondence to V. Saegeman.

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Funding

There was no funding received for this survey or for the writing of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to report.

Ethical approval

Ethical approval was not required for this survey, no patient data have been used. Accordingly, no informed consent forms were used.

Additional information

ESCMID Study Group for Forensic and Postmortem Microbiology (ESGFOR) members: Wafa Achour, Laurent Andréoletti, Ana Arribi, Alda Bazaj, Neval Elgormüs, Inés González, Aysel Karatas, Fernando Lázaro Perona, Stephen L. Leib, Miguel J. Martinez-Yoldi, Irene Merino, Catherine Moore, Jacob Moran-Gilad, Mario Poljak, Katja Seme, An Tamsin, Wouter Van Den Bogaert, Gülhan Yagmur, Ovidiu Mircea Zlatian.

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Saegeman, V., Cohen, M.C., Alberola, J. et al. How is post-mortem microbiology appraised by pathologists? Results from a practice survey conducted by ESGFOR. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 36, 1381–1385 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-017-2943-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-017-2943-6

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