RSV

My daughter passed away when she was just over 1 year old and an autopsy was performed. The only thing found was RSV on her brain. Everything else, including heart and lungs were normal. I just want to know, should they not have also been able to find this in her lungs as well, if this is what she died from? Keep in mind, she was not sick prior to her death, and she was born full term....9lbs 6 1/2oz.

[David Tinkelman, M.D.]

I am saddened by this tragic loss of your daughter.  RSV infection of the lungs typically causes inflammation of the bronchial tubes of varying sizes; much less often it may cause pneumonia, especially with diseases of the immune system.  When that occurs it would be apparent on both chest X-ray and at autopsy.  Were RSV bronchiolitis to have been the cause of death, that should have been evident at autopsy, even if the RSV was not isolated and identified.  That neither was the case makes it highly likely that your daughter did not die of RSV infection of the lungs.

With RVS infection of the central nervous system, involvement of the center that controls  breathing might have been a factor.  The tone of your message suggests to me that it might be important to your emotional well-being to know, with reasonable certainty,  the cause(s) of your daughter’s death.  For that reason, I strongly suggest that you schedule a time to meet  with her doctor, in his/her office to discuss these issues and get answers to your questions.

Again, I feel bad about your loss.