Autopsy Results from a Covid-19 Patient Treated in a Tropical Area, and a Review of the Epidemiological History
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 16964816 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jie Cai (0000-0001-9175-3048, Hainan Medical University), Bo Wang (0000-0002-0290-2134, Hainan Medical University), Tao Song (0000-0002-5965-3140, Hainan Medical University), Peng Zhang (0000-0001-6953-800X, Hainan Medical University), Ren Long (0000-0002-4150-8682, Hainan Medical University), Xiaoran Liu (0000-0001-7356-645X, Hainan Medical University), Jianqiang Deng (Hainan Medical University, corresponding author), Jianhua Chen (0000-0002-4068-3956, Hainan Medical University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 560-565 |
| Publication date | 2022-07-03 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Forensic Sciences Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2471-1411 • E-ISSN: 2096-1790 |
| Publisher | Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (PUBLISHER • CN) |
| DOI | 10.1080/20961790.2021.1978173 |
| PMID | 36353326 |
| OpenAlex | W4214929271 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 18 |
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an urgent need to produce accurate and sensitive tests. However, there have been instances where a positive nucleic acid test turns negative after treatment, and then positive again. This case report describes such an instance from the tropical region of Hainan, China. The patient was a 61-year-old female who went to Hainan on vacation from Wuhan during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Symptoms appeared 9 d after arriving in Hainan, and it was confirmed that the nucleic acid test was positive after 4 repeats. Her condition declined rapidly, her heart stopped beating, and she was admitted in a coma to the ICU. After treatment, the SARS-CoV-2 virus nucleic acid test of several nasopharyngeal swabs were negative, and tests on whole blood, anal swabs, and urine were also negative. Later, however, nucleic acid tests on a lower respiratory tract sputum swab and lower respiratory tract lavage fluid were positive. An autopsy examination was carried out 12 h after her death, and multi-organ secretions were extracted for nucleic acid testing. The SARS-CoV-2 virus nucleic acid was only detected in the swabs from the end of the bronchus, which was confirmed by the visualization of the coronavirus by electron microscopy. Autopsy confirmed that the damage was mainly concentrated in the lungs and immune organs and tissues throughout the body. Epidemiology indicated that none of the people she came into contact with after arriving in Hainan, including close contacts, were infected. This is in sharp contrast to the highly contagious virus in Wuhan in the temperate zone during the same period. This case report indicates: (1) The high temperatures in tropical areas may have an impact on the spread and harm of COVID-19, and (2) The reason why nucleic acid testing for COVID-19 was initially negative and then positive after treatment may be related to the survival of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in deep lung tissues
Autopsy · Biology · Disease · Nucleic acid · Nucleic acid test · Pathology · Pneumonia · COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies · COVID-19 diagnosis using AI · Medicine · SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research · Epidemiology · Internal Medicine · Physiology · Virology
Measuring performance on the Healthcare Access and Quality Index for 195 countries and territories and selected subnational locations
High population densities catalyse the spread of Covid-19
Effects of temperature and humidity on the daily new cases and new deaths of Covid-19 in 166 countries
Distribution of the Sars-CoV-2 Pandemic and Its Monthly Forecast Based on Seasonal Climate Patterns
Slum Health
| Highly cited | No |
|---|