September 29, 2020

Viral Presence and Immunopathology in Patients with Lethal COVID-19: A Prospective Autopsy Cohort Study

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Clinical Characteristics and Health Care Setting

Keywords (Tags): clinical characteristics

• An autopsy study among 21 patients who died of COVID-19 showed widespread systemic inflammation in the lungs, heart, kidney, liver, and brain, with a continued presence of inflammatory neutrophils cells even several weeks into the disease course. The lung was the organ with the most abundant SARS-CoV-2, and extensive inflammation was detected in the brain. SARS-CoV-2-infected cells were sporadically present up to 6 weeks after the onset of symptoms, and occasionally found at late stages of COVID-19. The authors note that these findings suggest a maladaptive immune response to SARS-CoV-2.

Schurink et al. (Sept 2020). Viral Presence and Immunopathology in Patients with Lethal COVID-19: A Prospective Autopsy Cohort Study. The Lancet Microbe. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2666-5247(20)30144-0