Safe Management Strategies in Clinical Forensic Autopsies of Confirmed COVID-19 Cases
To date, there is poor evidence on the transmission of infection in individuals handling the bodies of deceased persons infected with SARS-CoV-2 and in particular, during autopsies. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that when appropriate strategies are adopted autopsy is a safe procedure with...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Diagnostics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/11/3/457 |
| _version_ | 1797413003385110528 |
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| author | Cristoforo Pomara Monica Salerno Francesco Sessa Massimiliano Esposito Martina Barchitta Caterina Ledda Patrizia Grassi Aldo Liberto Anna Rita Mattaliano Venerando Rapisarda Margherita Ferrante Antonella Agodi |
| author_facet | Cristoforo Pomara Monica Salerno Francesco Sessa Massimiliano Esposito Martina Barchitta Caterina Ledda Patrizia Grassi Aldo Liberto Anna Rita Mattaliano Venerando Rapisarda Margherita Ferrante Antonella Agodi |
| author_sort | Cristoforo Pomara |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | To date, there is poor evidence on the transmission of infection in individuals handling the bodies of deceased persons infected with SARS-CoV-2 and in particular, during autopsies. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that when appropriate strategies are adopted autopsy is a safe procedure with a minimal infection risk for all subjects involved (pathologists, technical personnel, and others) when proper strategies are adopted. We performed 16 autopsies on cadavers of persons who had died with confirmed COVID-19 with different post-mortem intervals (PMI). To confirm the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA, for each autopsy, 2 swabs were sampled from lungs, while to evaluate environmental contamination, 11 swabs were taken at three different times: T0 (before autopsy), T1 (at the end of the autopsy, without removing the corpse), and T2 (after cleaning and disinfecting the autopsy room). Specifically, 2 swabs were sampled on face shields used by each pathologist, and 4 swabs were collected on the autopsy table; 4 swabs were also collected from walls and 1 from floor. Lung swabs confirmed the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in all cases. Environmental swabs, collected at T0 and T2 were all negative, while swabs sampled at T1 were shown to be positive. Interestingly, no association was shown between PMI length and environmental contamination. Infection control strategies for safe management of clinical forensic autopsies of bodies with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 are also described. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T05:11:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a6c728a8f5a14123912b7c9cead12f6c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4418 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T05:11:16Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diagnostics |
| spelling | doaj.art-a6c728a8f5a14123912b7c9cead12f6c2023-12-03T12:49:50ZengMDPI AGDiagnostics2075-44182021-03-0111345710.3390/diagnostics11030457Safe Management Strategies in Clinical Forensic Autopsies of Confirmed COVID-19 CasesCristoforo Pomara0Monica Salerno1Francesco Sessa2Massimiliano Esposito3Martina Barchitta4Caterina Ledda5Patrizia Grassi6Aldo Liberto7Anna Rita Mattaliano8Venerando Rapisarda9Margherita Ferrante10Antonella Agodi11Institute of Legal Medicine, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies “G.F. Ingrassia”, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, ItalyInstitute of Legal Medicine, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies “G.F. Ingrassia”, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, ItalyInstitute of Legal Medicine, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies “G.F. Ingrassia”, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Medical and Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies “G.F. Ingrassia”, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, ItalyOccupazional Medicine, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, 95121 Catania, ItalyDirector of Microbiology Section, Analysis Laboratory, San Marco Hospital, 95121 Catania, ItalyInstitute of Legal Medicine, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies “G.F. Ingrassia”, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, ItalyDirector of San Marco Hospital, 95121 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Medical and Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies “G.F. Ingrassia”, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, ItalyEnvironmental and Food Hygiene Laboratory (LIAA), Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies “G.F. Ingrassia”, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Medical and Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies “G.F. Ingrassia”, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, ItalyTo date, there is poor evidence on the transmission of infection in individuals handling the bodies of deceased persons infected with SARS-CoV-2 and in particular, during autopsies. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that when appropriate strategies are adopted autopsy is a safe procedure with a minimal infection risk for all subjects involved (pathologists, technical personnel, and others) when proper strategies are adopted. We performed 16 autopsies on cadavers of persons who had died with confirmed COVID-19 with different post-mortem intervals (PMI). To confirm the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA, for each autopsy, 2 swabs were sampled from lungs, while to evaluate environmental contamination, 11 swabs were taken at three different times: T0 (before autopsy), T1 (at the end of the autopsy, without removing the corpse), and T2 (after cleaning and disinfecting the autopsy room). Specifically, 2 swabs were sampled on face shields used by each pathologist, and 4 swabs were collected on the autopsy table; 4 swabs were also collected from walls and 1 from floor. Lung swabs confirmed the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in all cases. Environmental swabs, collected at T0 and T2 were all negative, while swabs sampled at T1 were shown to be positive. Interestingly, no association was shown between PMI length and environmental contamination. Infection control strategies for safe management of clinical forensic autopsies of bodies with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 are also described.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/11/3/457COVID-19autopsy safe managementclinical forensic autopsydisinfectionpost-mortem swab |
| spellingShingle | Cristoforo Pomara Monica Salerno Francesco Sessa Massimiliano Esposito Martina Barchitta Caterina Ledda Patrizia Grassi Aldo Liberto Anna Rita Mattaliano Venerando Rapisarda Margherita Ferrante Antonella Agodi Safe Management Strategies in Clinical Forensic Autopsies of Confirmed COVID-19 Cases Diagnostics COVID-19 autopsy safe management clinical forensic autopsy disinfection post-mortem swab |
| title | Safe Management Strategies in Clinical Forensic Autopsies of Confirmed COVID-19 Cases |
| title_full | Safe Management Strategies in Clinical Forensic Autopsies of Confirmed COVID-19 Cases |
| title_fullStr | Safe Management Strategies in Clinical Forensic Autopsies of Confirmed COVID-19 Cases |
| title_full_unstemmed | Safe Management Strategies in Clinical Forensic Autopsies of Confirmed COVID-19 Cases |
| title_short | Safe Management Strategies in Clinical Forensic Autopsies of Confirmed COVID-19 Cases |
| title_sort | safe management strategies in clinical forensic autopsies of confirmed covid 19 cases |
| topic | COVID-19 autopsy safe management clinical forensic autopsy disinfection post-mortem swab |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/11/3/457 |
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