An autopsy has confirmed that a fifth UPMC organ transplant patient had the same type of fungal infection that at least four other now-deceased UPMC patients did, according to a Tribune-Review report.
Daniel Krieg died in July after undergoing a kidney transplant in July 2015 and being readmitted to UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh in March for pneumonia. The autopsy lists "multiorgan failure due to sepsis due to pneumonia" as the cause of death, but also lists that Mr. Krieg had bacterial and fungal pneumonia. A lobe removed from his lung while he was still alive contained rhizopus, a type of mold, according to the report.
"The Krieg family feels vindicated that UPMC's own pathologists have confirmed what the family had said all along — a necrotizing fungal infection that Dan Krieg contracted while admitted to UPMC was a major contributing cause of death," his family's lawyer told the Tribune-Review.
A UPMC spokeswoman had previously said Mr. Krieg's death was due to pneumonia and was not directly related to the fungal infection. The Pittsburgh-based health system did not comment on the issue Wednesday, according to the Tribune-Review.
The family's lawyer is considering filing a lawsuit over Mr. Krieg's death, according to the report. One other lawsuit regarding the mold outbreak and subsequent patient deaths was settled in May for $1.35 million.