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Autopsy Findings and Venous Thromboembolism in Patients With COVID-19: A Prospective Cohort Study.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:The new coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has caused more than 210 000 deaths worldwide. However, little is known about the causes of death and the virus's pathologic features. OBJECTIVE:To validate and compare clinical findings with data from medical autopsy, virtual autopsy, and virologic tests. DESIGN:Prospective cohort study. SETTING:Autopsies performed at a single academic medical center, as mandated by the German federal state of Hamburg for patients dying with a polymerase chain reaction-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19. PATIENTS:The first 12 consecutive COVID-19-positive deaths. MEASUREMENTS:Complete autopsy, including postmortem computed tomography and histopathologic and virologic analysis, was performed. Clinical data and medical course were evaluated. RESULTS:Median patient age was 73 years (range, 52 to 87 years), 75% of patients were male, and death occurred in the hospital (n = 10) or outpatient sector (n = 2). Coronary heart disease and asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were the most common comorbid conditions (50% and 25%, respectively). Autopsy revealed deep venous thrombosis in 7 of 12 patients (58%) in whom venous thromboembolism was not suspected before death; pulmonary embolism was the direct cause of death in 4 patients. Postmortem computed tomography revealed reticular infiltration of the lungs with severe bilateral, dense consolidation, whereas histomorphologically diffuse alveolar damage was seen in 8 patients. In all patients, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in the lung at high concentrations; viremia in 6 of 10 and 5 of 12 patients demonstrated high viral RNA titers in the liver, kidney, or heart. LIMITATION:Limited sample size. CONCLUSION:The high incidence of thromboembolic events suggests an important role of COVID-19-induced coagulopathy. Further studies are needed to investigate the molecular mechanism and overall clinical incidence of COVID-19-related death, as well as possible therapeutic interventions to reduce it. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE:University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf.

SUBMITTER: Wichmann D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7240772 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Autopsy Findings and Venous Thromboembolism in Patients With COVID-19: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Wichmann Dominic D Sperhake Jan-Peter JP Lütgehetmann Marc M Steurer Stefan S Edler Carolin C Heinemann Axel A Heinrich Fabian F Mushumba Herbert H Kniep Inga I Schröder Ann Sophie AS Burdelski Christoph C de Heer Geraldine G Nierhaus Axel A Frings Daniel D Pfefferle Susanne S Becker Heinrich H Bredereke-Wiedling Hanns H de Weerth Andreas A Paschen Hans-Richard HR Sheikhzadeh-Eggers Sara S Stang Axel A Schmiedel Stefan S Bokemeyer Carsten C Addo Marylyn M MM Aepfelbacher Martin M Püschel Klaus K Kluge Stefan S

Annals of internal medicine 20200506 4

<h4>Background</h4>The new coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has caused more than 210 000 deaths worldwide. However, little is known about the causes of death and the virus's pathologic features.<h4>Objective</h4>To validate and compare clinical findings with data from medical autopsy, virtual autopsy, and virologic tests.<h4>Design</h4>Prospective cohort study.<h4>Setting</h4>Autopsies performed at a single academic medical center, as mandated by the Ger ...[more]

PMID: 32374815

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Project description:BackgroundPatients with COVID-19 infection are commonly reported to have an increased risk of venous thrombosis. The choice of anti-thrombotic agents and doses are currently being studied in randomized controlled trials and retrospective studies. There exists a need for individualized risk stratification of venous thromboembolism (VTE) to assist clinicians in decision-making on anticoagulation. We sought to identify the risk factors of VTE in COVID-19 patients, which could help physicians in the prevention, early identification, and management of VTE in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and improve clinical outcomes in these patients.MethodThis is a multicenter, retrospective database of four main health systems in Southeast Michigan, United States. We compiled comprehensive data for adult COVID-19 patients who were admitted between 1st March 2020 and 31st December 2020. Four models, including the random forest, multiple logistic regression, multilinear regression, and decision trees, were built on the primary outcome of in-hospital acute deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) and tested for performance. The study also reported hospital length of stay (LOS) and intensive care unit (ICU) LOS in the VTE and the non-VTE patients. Four models were assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and confusion matrix.ResultsThe cohort included 3531 admissions, 3526 had discharge diagnoses, and 6.68% of patients developed acute VTE (N = 236). VTE group had a longer hospital and ICU LOS than the non-VTE group (hospital LOS 12.2 days vs. 8.8 days, p < 0.001; ICU LOS 3.8 days vs. 1.9 days, p < 0.001). 9.8% of patients in the VTE group required more advanced oxygen support, compared to 2.7% of patients in the non-VTE group (p < 0.001). Among all four models, the random forest model had the best performance. The model suggested that blood pressure, electrolytes, renal function, hepatic enzymes, and inflammatory markers were predictors for in-hospital VTE in COVID-19 patients.ConclusionsPatients with COVID-19 have a high risk for VTE, and patients who developed VTE had a prolonged hospital and ICU stay. This random forest prediction model for VTE in COVID-19 patients identifies predictors which could aid physicians in making a clinical judgment on empirical dosages of anticoagulation.

Project description:BackgroundSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) targets multiple organs and causes severe coagulopathy. Histopathological organ changes might not only be attributable to a direct virus-induced effect, but also the immune response. The aims of this study were to assess the duration of viral presence, identify the extent of inflammatory response, and investigate the underlying cause of coagulopathy.MethodsThis prospective autopsy cohort study was done at Amsterdam University Medical Centers (UMC), the Netherlands. With informed consent from relatives, full body autopsy was done on 21 patients with COVID-19 for whom autopsy was requested between March 9 and May 18, 2020. In addition to histopathological evaluation of organ damage, the presence of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein and the composition of the immune infiltrate and thrombi were assessed, and all were linked to disease course.FindingsOur cohort (n=21) included 16 (76%) men, and median age was 68 years (range 41-78). Median disease course (time from onset of symptoms to death) was 22 days (range 5-44 days). In 11 patients tested for SARS-CoV-2 tropism, SARS-CoV-2 infected cells were present in multiple organs, most abundantly in the lungs, but presence in the lungs became sporadic with increased disease course. Other SARS-CoV-2-positive organs included the upper respiratory tract, heart, kidneys, and gastrointestinal tract. In histological analyses of organs (sampled from nine to 21 patients per organ), an extensive inflammatory response was present in the lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, and brain. In the brain, extensive inflammation was seen in the olfactory bulbs and medulla oblongata. Thrombi and neutrophilic plugs were present in the lungs, heart, kidneys, liver, spleen, and brain and were most frequently observed late in the disease course (15 patients with thrombi, median disease course 22 days [5-44]; ten patients with neutrophilic plugs, 21 days [5-44]). Neutrophilic plugs were observed in two forms: solely composed of neutrophils with neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), or as aggregates of NETs and platelets..InterpretationIn patients with lethal COVID-19, an extensive systemic inflammatory response was present, with a continued presence of neutrophils and NETs. However, SARS-CoV-2-infected cells were only sporadically present at late stages of COVID-19. This suggests a maladaptive immune response and substantiates the evidence for immunomodulation as a target in the treatment of severe COVID-19.FundingAmsterdam UMC Corona Research Fund.

Project description:Background: COVID-19 is associated with high rates of venous thromboembolism (VTE). The impact of common inherited thrombophilias on the development of COVID-19-associated VTE (COVID-19 VTE) is not well understood. Objective: To determine if the presence of inherited thrombophilias modifies the risk of COVID-19 VTE or COVID-19 mortality. Methods: Prospective population-based cohort study evaluating adult participants of the UK Biobank diagnosed with COVID-19 between November 2019 and May 2021. Individuals were of European descent and aged between 45 and 69 at recruitment to UK Biobank. We evaluated six single nucleotide polymorphisms including rs6025 (Factor V Leiden mutation) and rs1799963 (Prothrombin mutation) in addition to two polygenic risk scores (PRS-VTE and PRS-ABO). A genome-wide association study was performed for associations with COVID-19 VTE. COVID-19 VTE was defined using International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes for VTE following COVID-19 diagnosis. COVID-19 mortality was defined using ICD-10 codes for COVID-19 on the death certificate. Results: Demographic and clinical characteristics are shown in Table 1. Of the 13 712 COVID-19 positive individuals included in the analysis, the median age was 54 years and 52.5% were female. There were 197 (1.4%) cases of COVID-19 VTE and 890 (6.5%) died due to COVID-19. The rs6025 variant, synonymous with FVL, was associated with a 1.8-fold risk of COVID-19 VTE (95% CI 1.040-2.931) (Table 2). The risk of COVID-VTE was also increased with rs2066865 (OR 1.345; 95% CI 1.074-1.675) and the PRS-VTE (OR 1.262; 95% CI 1.081-1.468) (Table 2). COVID-19 VTE was associated with increased COVID-19 mortality (OR 2.731; 95% CI 1.885-3.901) but this study found no association between the studied inherited thrombophilias and COVID-19 mortality (Table 2). On genome-wide analysis, two novel SNPs, rs4975019 and rs2875853, located on chromosomes 4 and 16 respectively, were associated with an increased occurrence of COVID-19 VTE. Conclusions: These data demonstrate that several inherited thrombophilias increase the risk of COVID-19 VTE and suggest that two novel SNPs are associated with COVID-19 VTE. These results suggest that certain inherited thrombophilias may assist in characterising a subgroup of COVID-19 patients at higher risk of thrombotic events who require individualised antithrombotic therapy. Future prospective studies are required to evaluate inherited thrombophilias in this patient cohort. Figure 1 Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Dataset Information

Autopsy Findings and Venous Thromboembolism in Patients With COVID-19: A Prospective Cohort Study.

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Autopsy Findings and Venous Thromboembolism in Patients With COVID-19: A Prospective Cohort Study.

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