Concordance Between MITS and Conventional Autopsies for Pathological and Virological Diagnoses

Overview

Journal Int J Legal Med

Specialty Forensic Sciences

Date 2023 Oct 14

PMID 37837537

Authors

Julia Schadler

Akhator Terence Azeke

Benjamin Ondruschka

Stefan Steurer

Marc Lutgehetmann

Antonia Fitzek

Dustin Mobius

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

In pandemics or to further study highly contagious infectious diseases, new strategies are needed for the collection of post-mortem tissue samples to identify the pathogen as well as its morphological impact. In this study, an ultrasound-guided minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS) protocol was developed and validated for post-mortem use. The histological and microbiological qualities of post-mortem specimens were evaluated and compared between MITS and conventional autopsy (CA) in a series of COVID-19 deaths. Thirty-six ultrasound-guided MITS were performed. In five cases more, specimens for histological and virological examination were also obtained and compared during the subsequently performed CA. Summary statistics and qualitative interpretations (positive, negative) were calculated for each organ tissue sample from MITS and CA, and target genes were determined for both human cell count (beta-globin) and virus (SARS-CoV-2 specific E gene). There are no significant differences between MITS and CA with respect to the detectability of viral load in individual organs, which is why MITS can be of utmost importance and an useful alternative, especially during outbreaks of infectious diseases.

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