Purpose:The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of viruses in postmortem nasopharyngeal swabs and ocular tissues of patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) confirmed through an antemortem reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test.Methods:We recorded demographic data, comorbidities, treatments, and vaccination status of the patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and monitored in the intensive care unit. Nasopharyngeal swab samples were collected from the patients within 2 hours postmortem followed by swabs from both eyes, lower and upper conjunctival sacs, corneal epithelial layer, and samples from anterior chamber fluid. The geneMAP 2019-nCoV severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) detection kit was used to detect the samples showing the presence of SARS-CoV-2.Results:Among the 47 patients (mean age 74 years, range 39–92) included in the study, 29 were men and 18 were women. The nasopharyngeal swab samples of 21 patients were positive for the RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2, whereas at least one of the ocular tissue samples in 6 of those patients were positive for the RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2. However, all ocular swab samples were tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 in the 26 patients with negative nasopharyngeal swab samples. The mean duration from COVID-19 diagnosis to mortality was 10 days (range 2–27 days) in patients with positive postmortem nasopharyngeal swab samples for SARS-CoV-2, compared with an average of 21 days (1–80 days) in patients who tested negative. This difference was statistically significant (P = 0.01).Conclusions:Cadavers with negative postmortem nasopharyngeal swab samples for SARS-CoV-2 and those with the time from diagnosis to death of >3 weeks may be considered as candidates for corneal donation.

The incidence of anemia and its association with postoperative complications in pediatric patients undergoing elective minor surgery are unknown. This study aims to determine the prevalence of anemia and its impact on postoperative complications in children undergoing elective minor surgery under general anesthesia. The preoperative complete blood count data of ASA I-II patients aged 1-18 years, for whom the pediatric surgery department planned an elective minor surgery under general anesthesia between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019, were evaluated retrospectively. The frequency of patients with abnormal hemoglobin values, the influence on preoperative treatment, the perioperative blood requirement and the complications were evaluated. Based on the specified inclusion interval, 851 of 3142 patients (784 Turks, 67 immigrants) met the inclusion criteria. It was observed that 24.38% of these patients had varying degrees of anemia (1.72% was rated as severe anemia). In addition, it was found that the operations of patients with anemia were not postponed and no additional assessment was required from the patients. It was found that the prevalence of anemia between Turkish patients and immigrant patients is similar. No complications were observed in the patients during the perioperative period. We found that the preoperative complete blood count test has limited value in patient management in children undergoing elective minor surgery and the prevalence of anemia in our area is quite high. Instead of routine laboratory tests, a careful medical history and physical examination are sufficient to determine the preoperative suitability of the pediatric patient before elective minor surgery.