[A case report of graft-versus-host reaction after aortocoronary bypass--a clinicopathological study]

An immunologically normal 70-year-old male developed fever and disturbance of consciousness after aortocoronary bypass; this was followed by diarrhea, systemic erythroderma and granulocytopenia. He died as a result of sepsis and acute renal failure. The skin biopsy showed basel vacuolar degeneration, epidermal eosinophilic necrosis and invasion of T-lymphocytes. The autopsy showed necrotic small interlobular bile ducts, severely hypoplastic bone marrow and widespread necrosis of lymphoid tissue. Based on these clinicopathological findings, we made a diagnosis of graft-versus host reaction after transfusion.