Toxic shock syndrome. A fatal case with autopsy findings.

Although the clinical and laboratory features of the toxic shock syndrome have recently been further defined, the pathologic lesions attending this disorder are as yet primarily unstudied. We present the autopsy findings in a fatal case of toxic shock syndrome, which occurred in a 17-year-old girl. These observations are used as a focus for the discussion of possible pathophysiologic mechanisms operative in this disease and are contrasted with autopsy findings in several other pathologic entities that are often confused with toxic shock syndrome.