RETROSPECTIVE DIAGNOSIS OF SICKLE-CELL-HEMOGLOBIN-C DISEASE AND PARVOVIRUS INFECTION BY MOLECULAR DNA ANALYSIS OF POSTMORTEM TISSUE

A previously healthy 30-year-old African-American woman presented with a history of sickle cell trait and a nonspecific prodromal illness wi th severe bone pain. She experienced rapid clinical deterioration with seizures and cardiorespiratory arrest leading to death. Autopsy showe d necrotic bone marrow with extensive bone marrow emboli. Parvovirus i nfection was documented by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) although di agnostic intranuclear inclusions or giant pronormoblasts were not pres ent. The diagnosis of sickle cell-hemoglobin C disease (hemoglobin SC disease) was also established postmortem by DNA sequencing of PCR prod ucts. This case illustrates the use and versatility of PCR for analysi s of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded autopsy tissue. Copyright (C) 19 95 by W.B. Saunders Company