Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Kamenice 126/3, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic.
Laboratory of DNA Diagnostics, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic.
Anat Sci Int. 2023 Jul;98(3):441-447. doi: 10.1007/s12565-023-00707-9. Epub 2023 Mar 4.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a problem arose with classic body donation programmes for obtaining cadavers for anatomical dissections, science and research. The question has emerged whether bodies of individuals who died of COVID-19 or were infected by SARS-CoV-2 could be admitted to Departments of Anatomy. To determine the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission to employees or students, the presence and stability of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in cadavers after fixation agents' application and subsequent post-fixation baths over time were examined. The presence of viral RNA in swabs from selected tissues was assessed by the standardized routine RNA isolation protocol and subsequent real-time PCR analysis. To support the results obtained from the tissue swabs, samples of RNA were exposed in vitro to short and long-term exposure to the components of the injection and fixation solutions used for the bodies' conservation. Substantial removal of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was observed in post-mortem tissue following perfusion with 3.5% phenol, 2.2% formaldehyde, 11.8% glycerol and 55% ethanol, and subsequent post-fixation in an ethanol bath. In vitro experiments showed significant effects of formaldehyde on SARS-CoV-2 RNA, while phenol and ethanol showed only negligible effects. We conclude that cadavers subjected to fixation protocols as described here should not pose a considerable risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection while being handled by students and staff and are, therefore, suitable for routine anatomical dissections and teaching.
随着 COVID-19 大流行的爆发，经典的遗体捐赠计划在获取用于解剖、科学研究的尸体方面出现了问题。人们提出了这样一个问题，即死于 COVID-19 或感染 SARS-CoV-2 的个体的尸体是否可以被送到解剖学系。为了确定 SARS-CoV-2 传播给员工或学生的风险，研究人员检查了在固定剂应用后以及随后随着时间的推移进行固定后浴时，尸体中 SARS-CoV-2 RNA 的存在和稳定性。通过标准化的常规 RNA 分离方案和随后的实时 PCR 分析，评估了拭子中选定组织中病毒 RNA 的存在。为了支持从组织拭子中获得的结果，将 RNA 样本暴露于体外，使其在短时间和长时间内暴露于用于保存尸体的注射和固定溶液的成分中。在对死后组织进行 3.5%苯酚、2.2%甲醛、11.8%甘油和 55%乙醇灌注后，以及随后在乙醇浴中进行固定后，观察到 SARS-CoV-2 RNA 大量去除。体外实验表明甲醛对 SARS-CoV-2 RNA 有显著影响，而苯酚和乙醇仅表现出可忽略的影响。我们得出结论，按照这里描述的固定方案处理的尸体在被学生和工作人员处理时，不应该构成 SARS-CoV-2 感染的重大风险，因此适合进行常规解剖和教学。
