Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-2023

Identifier

DOI: 10.7759/cureus.41318; PMCID: PMC10395657

Abstract

Blue-green cytoplasmic neutrophilic inclusion bodies, previously described as "green crystals of death," are a rare but likely underreported finding in critically ill patients. This finding is associated with high mortality, ranging from 31% to 100% in published case studies. These inclusion bodies have been most strongly associated with acute liver injury and lactic acidosis, but they have also been reported in critically ill patients secondary to other etiologies. Here, we report a case of blue-green neutrophilic inclusion bodies in a patient with aspiration pneumonia and severe pneumoperitoneum secondary to bowel perforation. These blue-green neutrophilic inclusion bodies offer high prognostic value for physicians, and their presence should be considered a "critical result," indicating the severity of the patient's illness.

Journal Title

Cureus

Volume

15

Issue

7

First Page

41318

Last Page

41318

Keywords

blood pathology; critical illness diagnosis; in-icu mortality; mortality predictors; pulmonary critical care

Comments

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC-BY 4.0., which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Publisher's Link: https://www.cureus.com/articles/164940-green-cytoplasmic-neutrophilic-inclusion-bodies-in-a-patient-with-aspiration-pneumonia-and-bowel-perforation#!/

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