Clinicopathological features of hydrophilic polymer emboli in Japanese autopsy cases.

Hydrophilic polymer is used on multiple endovascular devices to decrease friction between these devices and vessel walls. Although it can prevent medical device-related complications, hydrophilic polymer emboli (HPE) has recently been established as a potentially fatal iatrogenic phenomenon. HPE can cause tissue injury in numerous sites, including the brain, heart, lung, skin, and intestines. Most HPE reports have been from Europe and the USA. Therefore, we investigated the frequency, site distribution, and degree of tissue injury of HPE in 227 Japanese autopsy cases. HPE was noted in 3.1% (7/227 cases), and was only found in the lung or heart. There were no cases with tissue injury, such as vasculopathy, ischemia or infarction, associated with HPE. This is the first series study of HPE in Japanese autopsy cases. Unlike in reports from Europe and USA, HPE was only seen in the lung or heart and did not injure the surrounding tissue.