Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Associated With Rabies: A Case Report

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is the first potentially lethal complication in rabies virus infection, although its occurrence is rare. We report on a fatal case of rabies virus infection in a 45-year-old woman from Hu-Nan Province, China. The neurologic signs of limb numbness and water...

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Main Author: Yung-Hsiang Hsu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2006-02-01
Series:Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1607551X0970227X
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author Yung-Hsiang Hsu
author_facet Yung-Hsiang Hsu
author_sort Yung-Hsiang Hsu
collection DOAJ
description Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is the first potentially lethal complication in rabies virus infection, although its occurrence is rare. We report on a fatal case of rabies virus infection in a 45-year-old woman from Hu-Nan Province, China. The neurologic signs of limb numbness and water phobia occurred from 61 days after the dog bite; the clinical course was progressive, with the most severe clinical manifestations being fever, encephalitis, and ARDS. The woman expired 12 days after admission to the hospital. An autopsy proved rabies encephalitis, mainly involving the medulla oblongata, the thalamus, part of the pons, the cerebellum, and the hippocampus. The lung pathologic examination revealed the organizing phase of ARDS with diffuse alveolar damage, hyaline membrane formation, type II alveolar cell hyperplasia accompanied by proliferation of fibroblasts and infiltration of mononuclear cells into the interstitial space. Immunohistochemistry stain and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction for rabies virus failed to demonstrate the organism in the lung tissue. Strong expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was detected in the alveolar macrophages. An immunologic mechanism with iNOS expression in the absence of direct invasion of the organism may participate in the pathogenesis of ARDS associated with rabies.
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spelling doaj.art-fd3a841403094d81930e7db4e42e94692022-12-21T23:22:18ZengWileyKaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences1607-551X2006-02-01222949810.1016/S1607-551X(09)70227-XAcute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Associated With Rabies: A Case ReportYung-Hsiang HsuAcute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is the first potentially lethal complication in rabies virus infection, although its occurrence is rare. We report on a fatal case of rabies virus infection in a 45-year-old woman from Hu-Nan Province, China. The neurologic signs of limb numbness and water phobia occurred from 61 days after the dog bite; the clinical course was progressive, with the most severe clinical manifestations being fever, encephalitis, and ARDS. The woman expired 12 days after admission to the hospital. An autopsy proved rabies encephalitis, mainly involving the medulla oblongata, the thalamus, part of the pons, the cerebellum, and the hippocampus. The lung pathologic examination revealed the organizing phase of ARDS with diffuse alveolar damage, hyaline membrane formation, type II alveolar cell hyperplasia accompanied by proliferation of fibroblasts and infiltration of mononuclear cells into the interstitial space. Immunohistochemistry stain and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction for rabies virus failed to demonstrate the organism in the lung tissue. Strong expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was detected in the alveolar macrophages. An immunologic mechanism with iNOS expression in the absence of direct invasion of the organism may participate in the pathogenesis of ARDS associated with rabies.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1607551X0970227Xrabiesacute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)
spellingShingle Yung-Hsiang Hsu
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Associated With Rabies: A Case Report
Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences
rabies
acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)
title Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Associated With Rabies: A Case Report
title_full Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Associated With Rabies: A Case Report
title_fullStr Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Associated With Rabies: A Case Report
title_full_unstemmed Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Associated With Rabies: A Case Report
title_short Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Associated With Rabies: A Case Report
title_sort acute respiratory distress syndrome associated with rabies a case report
topic rabies
acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1607551X0970227X
work_keys_str_mv AT yunghsianghsu acuterespiratorydistresssyndromeassociatedwithrabiesacasereport