Summary
Aim of the study. To compare macroscopic and microscopic organ changes detected at autopsy in SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals between different cause-of-death groups.
Material and methods. A retrospective analysis of the State Forensic Science Service's autopsy data for 2020-2022 was conducted. 79 cases of deceased individuals with a positive nasopharyngeal swab polymerase chain reaction test result for SARS-CoV-2 were selected. Individuals were stratified by cause of death: group I – deaths due to COVID-19 disease, group II – deaths due to other causes. The level of significance was p<0.05.
Results. 21.5% of individuals were in group I, and 78.5% in group II. The most common comorbidity in group I was atherosclerotic heart disease (82.4%). The most frequent causes of death in group II were chronic ischemic heart disease (33.9%) and mechanical asphyxia (19.4%). The mean age was 58.1 years in group I and 58.2 years in group II. Most subjects were male (64.7% in group I and 61.3% in group II). In group I, pleural adhesions were more frequent than in group II (52.9% vs. 25.8%, p<0.05), as were hyperemic mucosa (88.2% vs. 29%, p<0.001), mucous-purulent secretion in the trachea and large bronchi (76.5% vs. 27.4%, p<0.001), increased lung weight (1796.3 g vs. 1193.5 g, p<0.001), stiff lungs (94.1% vs. 25.8%, p<0.001), reduced lung elasticity (100% vs. 50%, p<0.05), purulent secretions in lung sections (41.2% vs. 6.5%, p=0.001), and enlarged brain ventricles (41.2% vs. 17.7%, p<0.05). Macroscopic findings of the heart, liver, kidneys, and microscopic findings of all examined organs were not statistically significantly different (p>0.05).
Conclusions. Statistically significant macroscopic changes were identified in the respiratory system and the brain among the distinct cause-of-death groups. The microscopic findings did not show any statistically significant differences. The impact of SARS-CoV-2 on organ changes is difficult to assess due to the heterogeneity of the findings, age-related changes, and comorbidities.
