Ossei Paul Poku Sampene, Ayibor William Gilbert, Taylor John, Agyemang Lawrence, Aninkora Kwabena Owusu, Asante Bright Opoku
Department of Pathology, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Clin Pathol. 2021 Jun 23;14:2632010X211025308. doi: 10.1177/2632010X211025308. eCollection 2021 Jan-Dec.
With the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) still in pandemic mode, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the African continent has experienced continued growth in the total tally. According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the virus has spread to almost all 54 recognized African countries. Figures from the CDC indicate that the highly affected countries include South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria, Morocco, and Ghana (with more than 55 000 cases and 400 deaths as of the time of writing). The WHO and the United Nations have projected the ongoing pandemic could push medical practitioners toward high rates of clinical misdiagnosis. So far, the coronavirus pandemic has been more devastating and life-threatening than the usual seasonal flu. As of the time of writing, here is presently no proven vaccine or treatment for the disease, with the vaccines still under development; hence, a timely and accurate diagnosis could prove critical. Patients can also receive supportive care earlier if they are diagnosed early. Considering the fact that the coronavirus infection mimics the signs and symptoms of normal flu and other respiratory infections, a problem now emerges, where these symptoms are treated as manifestations of the deadly virus. This has caused a diagnostic dilemma in the absence of laboratory tests with new cases adding to the pool daily. In Ghana, many patients on suspicion of flu-like symptoms are sometimes denied the care so deserved due to the stigma associated with the disease, often in cases where laboratory tests are absent. This study is a postmortem report of a client who died while on admission at a private medical facility. It was an unconfirmed case of COVID-19, and the client was left unattended to and died, having spent 8 days on the ward. His test report was not done initially, but the diagnosis was purely based on suspicion. Nasopharyngeal swabs conducted on the fifth day of admission proved negative. Results became available on the day of the client's demise. Postmortem findings established the actual cause of death, and it was not COVID-19 related.
据世界卫生组织（WHO）称，随着2019年新型冠状病毒病（COVID-19）仍处于大流行状态，非洲大陆的病例总数持续增长。根据非洲疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）的数据，该病毒已传播至几乎所有54个被认可的非洲国家。CDC的数据显示，受影响严重的国家包括南非、埃及、尼日利亚、阿尔及利亚、摩洛哥和加纳（截至撰写本文时，病例数超过55000例，死亡400例）。WHO和联合国预计，当前的大流行可能导致医生临床误诊率居高不下。到目前为止，冠状病毒大流行比普通季节性流感更具破坏性且危及生命。截至撰写本文时，目前尚无针对该疾病的经证实的疫苗或治疗方法，疫苗仍在研发中；因此，及时准确的诊断可能至关重要。如果患者能早期确诊，也可以更早地接受支持性治疗。鉴于冠状病毒感染与普通流感和其他呼吸道感染的症状相似，现在出现了一个问题，即这些症状被视为致命病毒的表现。在缺乏实验室检测的情况下，这造成了诊断困境，而且每天都有新病例增加。在加纳，许多疑似流感样症状的患者有时因与该疾病相关的污名而得不到应有的治疗，尤其是在没有实验室检测的情况下。本研究是一名在私立医疗机构住院期间死亡患者的尸检报告。这是一例未经确诊的COVID-19病例，该患者在病房里无人照料，度过8天后死亡。他的检测报告最初未做，诊断完全基于怀疑。入院第五天进行的鼻咽拭子检测结果为阴性。结果在患者死亡当天出来了。尸检结果确定了实际死因，与COVID-19无关。
