Fulminant sepsis due to anaerobic bacterial infection in immuno-compromised state

We experienced two autopsy cases of fulminant sepsis due to anaerobes. Case 1: A 67-year-old female with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus (DM) was admitted to a hospital because of sudden onset of mid-abdominal pain. She was diagnosed with infectious colitis and given a laxative and an enema. However, 9h later, her blood pressure suddenly dropped with metabolic acidosis, and she died 20 h after admission. Autopsy revealed massive pneumohemia and a dark-brown colored mucosal surface from the terminal ileum to the sigmoid colon. Histopathological findings were compatible with marginal ischemic colitis. Anaerobes were positive in blood culture. Case 2: A 53-year-old male with alcoholic liver cirrhosis (LC) was found dead in his room. He had been alive 24 h before the discovery, but postmortem changes appeared to accelerate more rapidly than usual cases. Autopsy revealed severe LC with muddy ascites and many Gram-negative rods in several organs. These cases suggest the possibility of sepsis as causes of death, especially in immuno-compromised hosts when unexplained putrefactive changes are seen on forensic autopsy.