Guide to forensic pathology practice for death cases related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (Trial draft)

Mao, Danmi; Zhou, Nan; Zheng, Dong-Hui; Yue, Jiacheng; Zhao, Qianhao; Luo, Baoming; Guan, Dawei; Zhou, Yiwu; Hu, Bingjie

doi:10.1080/20961790.2020.1744400

Cited by 31 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The first histopathologic reports of COVID-19-positive subjects were obtained from biopsies of alive patients, postmortem biopsies, surgical specimens, or transplanted organs [20,21,[47][48][49][50][51]. Evidence on the safety of postmortem examinations, if properly conducted, and positive/suspected SARS-CoV-2 corpse management recommendations have appeared [52][53][54][55][56][57][58], and some studies about complete autopsies of deceased SARS-CoV-2-positive patients have been published.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autopsy findings in COVID-19-related deaths: a literature review

Maiese

Manetti

Russa

et al. 2020

Forensic Sci Med Pathol

183

172

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Although many clinical reports have been published, little is known about the pathological post-mortem findings from people who have died of the novel coronavirus disease. The need for postmortem information is urgent to improve patient management of mild and severe illness, and treatment strategies. The present systematic review was carried out according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review (PRISMA) standards. A systematic literature search and a critical review of the collected studies were conducted. An electronic search of PubMed, Science Direct Scopus, Google Scholar, and Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE) from database inception to June 2020 was performed. We found 28 scientific papers; the total amount of cases is 341. The major histological feature in the lung is diffuse alveolar damage with hyaline membrane formation, alongside microthrombi in small pulmonary vessels. It appears that there is a high incidence of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism among COVID-19 decedents, suggesting endothelial involvement, but more studies are needed. A uniform COVID-19 post-mortem diagnostic protocol has not yet been developed. In a time in which international collaboration is essential, standardized diagnostic criteria are fundamental requirements.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autopsy findings in COVID-19-related deaths: a literature review

Maiese

Manetti

Russa

et al. 2020

Forensic Sci Med Pathol

183

172

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show abstract

“…They advocated for adding excessive amounts of fixative to collected autopsy tissue samples for fixation and declined to perform tissue handling or grossing prior to 72 hr of fixation. Additionally, an excessive disinfection procedure before and after each step of fixation, dehydration, processing, embedding, and sectioning was recommended by Mao et al (Table 1) [12].…”

Section: Histotechnology Practices In the Early Phase Of Covid-19 Outmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More information about handling tissue specimens can be found from CAP (https://www.cap.org/laboratory-improvement /news-and-updates/cytopathology-laboratoryconsiderations-during-the-COVID-19-pandemic). Autopsy procedures were recommended to be performed in a BSL3 laboratory with proper PPE [12,16,17]. Sample fixation should be completed (fixed in 10% NBF for 72 h depending on different specimens) before histotechnical applications commence.…”

Section: Continued Histotechnology Practices During the Covid-19 Outbmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sample fixation should be completed (fixed in 10% NBF for 72 h depending on different specimens) before histotechnical applications commence. With proper PPE usage combined with a 70% ethanol disinfection practice in place [12,15], working with FFPE blocks and sections from COVID-19 patients has no elevated infection risk compared to other infectious diseases or bloodborne pathogens.…”

Section: Continued Histotechnology Practices During the Covid-19 Outbmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additional biosafety measurements during this pandemic should be implemented in all histology laboratories that handle unfixed specimens to ensure safety for histology professionals to prevent subsequent infection and further transmission. This mini-review will simply summarize the published histology laboratory work practices found in available literature with no intent to propose any additional biosafety guidelines [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A review on histotechnology practices in COVID-19 pathology investigations

Malloy

Wang

2020

Journal of Histotechnology

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COVID-19 disease in humans, caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus, was first reported in the city of Wuhan, China in December 2019. This disease has quickly developed into a global pandemic, resulting in over 350,000 deaths worldwide and over 5 million confirmed infections in a matter of 6 months. Although the genome of this novel viral RNA was sequenced quickly and testing kits were manufactured to assist in combatting COVID-19, the diagnosis and treatment will remain relatively unsuccessful until the pathology of this disease is fully understood. Histotechnology plays an important role in understanding the pathology of many diseases, including COVID-19. The first postmortem biopsy of a COVID-19 patient was collected on 27 January 2020, and the pathology finding was published in mid-February 2020. Since then, more studies have been published in scientific literatures as the global outbreak continues. This mini-review summarizes the published articles in which histotechnology aspects were utilized with the intent to understand the pathology of COVID-19. In addition, it is anticipated there will be more molecular and immunohistochemical studies to further understand the mechanism of the disease in the near future.

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Post-mortem persistence of SARS-CoV-2: a preliminary study

Sablone

Solarino

Ferorelli

et al. 2021

Forensic Sci Med Pathol

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Since the beginning of March 2020, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has been the cause of millions of deaths worldwide. The need to better define the pathogenesis of coronavirus disease 19 (Covid-19) as well as to provide the correct statistical records concerning deaths related to this virus, inevitably involves the role of forensic pathology and routine autopsy practice. Currently, some data on macroscopic and microscopic features in autopsies performed in suspected Covid-19 cases are reported in the literature. The persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in cadavers has not yet been elucidated and only a few reports have emphasized the importance of evaluating the Virus RNA in post-mortem tissues. In this preliminary study, we observed that SARS-CoV-2 survives in multiple cadaver tissues many days after death despite some extreme conditions of post-mortem body preservation. The results of this on-going analysis could help improve the safety of working practices for pathologists as well as understanding the possible interaction between microbiological agents and the cadaver tissue’s supravital reactions.

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Guide to forensic pathology practice for death cases related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (Trial draft)

Cited by 31 publications

References 17 publications

Autopsy findings in COVID-19-related deaths: a literature review

Autopsy findings in COVID-19-related deaths: a literature review

A review on histotechnology practices in COVID-19 pathology investigations

Post-mortem persistence of SARS-CoV-2: a preliminary study

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