Published in:
01-07-2020 | Autopsy | Topical Collection on COVID-19
Inside the lungs of COVID-19 disease
Authors:
Diego Aguiar, Johannes Alexander Lobrinus, Manuel Schibler, Tony Fracasso, Christelle Lardi
Published in:
International Journal of Legal Medicine
|
Issue 4/2020
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Abstract
In the setting of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, only few data regarding lung pathology induced by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is available, especially without medical intervention interfering with the natural evolution of the disease. We present here the first case of forensic autopsy of a COVID-19 fatality occurring in a young woman, in the community. Diagnosis was made at necropsy and lung histology showed diffuse alveolar damage, edema, and interstitial pneumonia with a geographically heterogeneous pattern, mostly affecting the central part of the lungs. This death related to COVID-19 pathology highlights the heterogeneity and severity of central lung lesions after natural evolution of the disease.