Pathomorphological Reorganization of the Adrenal Cortex in Preterm Newborns with Fatal Intrauterine Pneumonia
Ziyadulla E. Zhumanov *
Department of Pathological Anatomy, Samarkand State Medical University, Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Salikh V. Pirmatov
Department of Pathological Anatomy, Samarkand State Medical University, Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Ulug'bek E. Jumanov
Department of Internal Medicine No. 4, Samarkand State Medical Institute, Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aims: To determine morphological changes in the adrenal cortex of infants who died prematurely due to intrauterine pneumonia.
Study Design: Descriptive, autopsy-based histopathological study.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pathological Anatomy, maternity complex of the Multidisciplinary Clinic of Samarkand State Medical University, between 20 May 2024 and 10 July 2026.
Methodology: Autopsies were performed on 17 infants (7 girls and 10 boys; birth weight range 1000–1700 g; body length 28–39 cm) who died of intrauterine pneumonia. Adrenal tissue samples (0.5×1.0 cm) were fixed, paraffin-embedded, sectioned at 5–7 μm, and stained with haematoxylin and eosin.
Results: Pathomorphological changes in the adrenal cortex were dystrophic and necrotic in nature. As the postnatal survival time increased, dystrophic areas expanded and progressed to necrotic change, with expanding foci of necrosis and pronounced intercellular oedema.
Conclusion: Pathomorphological changes in the adrenal glands of infants born with intrauterine pneumonia are dystrophic and destructive in nature, with significant destructive changes in the cortex and oedema of fibrous connective tissue in the interlobular and cortical areas. Because the study was descriptive and did not include a gestational-age-matched control group, these changes should be interpreted as an association with severe perinatal illness rather than as findings specific to intrauterine pneumonia.
Keywords: Intrauterine pneumonia, adrenal cortex, prematurity, dystrophy, necrosis, hypoxia, adrenocorticocytes, newborn infant