Postmortem Chest Computed Tomography in Fatal COVID-19: A Valuable Diagnostic Tool for Minimally Invasive Autopsy

Analysis of the role of PMCT during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review

“…[ 23 , 29 , [31] , [32] , [33] , [34] , [35] , [36] , [37] , [38] , [39] , [40] , [41] , [42] , [43] , [44] , [45] , [46] , [47] , [48] ]. The results of our systematic review are reported in Table I in chronological sequence.…”

“…From the 20 papers, information about 515 cases with SARS-CoV-2 Real-time PCR (RTPCR) positivity and examined through PMCT were available. Seventeen papers [ 29 , [31] , [32] , [33] , [34] , [35] , [37] , [38] , [39] , [40] , [41] , [42] , [43] , [44] , [46] , [47] , [48] ] provided detailed information about cases. All cases regarded adults.…”

“…Of the 515 cases examined, 289 cases underwent autopsy from 14 articles [ 29 , [31] , [32] , [33] , [34] , [35] , 37 , [39] , [40] , [41] , 44 , [46] , [47] , [48] ], 234/289 of the study of Fitzek et al [39] . In one paper of Silva et al [43] , although the 5 cases presented were not autopsied, they underwent ultrasonography (US) guided biopsies of major organs including the lungs, and histopathological data were available. Thus, histopathological analysis of lungs was performed in a total 294 cases positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection examined with PMCT.…”

“…Of the 20 papers included in the study, 14 reported detailed description of PMCT lung findings for each case [ 29 , [31] , [32] , [33] , [34] , [35] , 37 , 38 , 40 , 41 , 43 , 44 , 47 , 48 ], with a total amount of 82 cases among the 515 included in the review. In fact, for the 411 cases reported by Fitzek et al [39] a detailed description of PMCT pulmonary findings was not provided.…”

Scientific legacy of COVID-19 at the FMUSP-HC academic health system: current status and implications for the future

“…These techniques illustrated the feasibility of an extended ultrasound-guided strategy to increase the accuracy in detecting cardiopulmonary events involving the large vessels (8). It also documented the usefulness of post-mortem chest computed tomography imaging in fatal cases of pediatric and adult COVID-19 (9).…”