[Sudden death in Sanarelli-Shwartzman phenomenon with an unusual pathogen]

The classical generalized Sanarelli-Shwartzman phenomenon (SSP) in animal experiments is induced by two conservative endotoxin injections. The experimental animals mostly die within 24 hours in irreversible shock. They show numerous microthrombi with as high fibrin content in the peripheral vessels of many organs (especially the kidneys) in the context of a consumption coagulopathy. In a 49-year-old man who died within one day of a condition associated with high fever, the clinical picture could be defined on the basis of the clinical and morphological findings as a human equivalent of SSP. The detection of a gram-positive bacterium (Diplococcus pneumoniae), which has been described as the causative organism of SSP only in a few exceptional cases, was noteworthy. The special features of the pathophysiology are described.