Chair and Department of Anatomy, Medical University of Lublin, 20-090, Lublin, Poland.
Chair and Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Lublin, 20-090, Lublin, Poland.
Forensic Sci Med Pathol. 2021 Mar;17(1):101-113. doi: 10.1007/s12024-020-00341-1. Epub 2021 Jan 4.
Modern technologies enable the exchange of information about the expansion of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and the continually increasing number of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases almost in real time. The gravity of a current epidemiological situation is represented by the mortality rates, which are scrupulously updated daily. Performing autopsies on patients with either suspected or confirmed COVID-19 is of high importance since these might not only improve clinical management but also reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection expansion. The following paper aimed to present the most crucial aspects of SARS-CoV-2 infection from the point of view of forensic experts and pathologists, recommendations and safety precautions regarding autopsies, autopsy room requirements, possible techniques, examinations used for effective viral detection, recommendations regarding burials, and gross and microscopic pathological findings of the deceased who died due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Autopsies remain the gold standard for determining the cause of death. Therefore, it would be beneficial to perform autopsies on patients with both suspected and confirmed COVID-19, especially those with coexisting comorbidities.
现代技术几乎可以实时交换有关严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）感染和不断增加的 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）病例的信息。当前流行病学情况的严重性由死亡率表示，死亡率每天都在严格更新。对疑似或确诊 COVID-19 的患者进行尸检非常重要，因为这不仅可以改善临床管理，而且还可以降低 SARS-CoV-2 感染扩大的风险。本文旨在从法医专家和病理学家的角度介绍 SARS-CoV-2 感染的最重要方面，关于尸检的建议和安全预防措施，尸检室的要求，可能的技术，用于有效检测病毒的检查，有关埋葬的建议，以及因 SARS-CoV-2 感染而死亡的死者的大体和微观病理学发现。尸检仍然是确定死亡原因的金标准。因此，对疑似和确诊 COVID-19 的患者，尤其是伴有并存合并症的患者进行尸检将是有益的。
