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Autopsies of COVID-19 deceased? Absolutely!

Jan-Peter Sperhake1

  • 1Department of Legal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Butenfeld 34, D-22529 Hamburg, Germany.

Legal Medicine (Tokyo, Japan)
|August 3, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Autopsies are crucial for understanding new diseases like COVID-19. Despite potential infection risks being overestimated, performing autopsies on deceased patients offers invaluable scientific insights.

Area of Science:

  • Pathology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Autopsies are vital for understanding novel diseases.
  • There is a global reluctance to perform autopsies on COVID-19 deceased patients.
  • This reluctance hinders disease comprehension and control.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the global status of COVID-19 autopsy studies.
  • To highlight Hamburg's approach to ordering autopsies for disease control.
  • To address concerns regarding infection risks from SARS-CoV-2 positive deceased individuals.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of published autopsy series worldwide.
  • Case study analysis of Hamburg's public health authority's autopsy protocols.
  • Risk assessment of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from deceased individuals.

Main Results:

  • Significant underutilization of autopsies for COVID-19 research globally.
  • Hamburg's proactive approach demonstrates a viable model for disease control through autopsies.
  • The perceived infection risk from SARS-CoV-2 positive deceased individuals may be overestimated.

Conclusions:

  • Autopsies on COVID-19 deceased patients are essential for scientific understanding.
  • Hamburg's strategy provides a framework for overcoming reluctance and leveraging autopsies for public health.
  • The scientific and clinical benefits of examining tissue samples are substantial and should be pursued.

Keywords:
AutopsyCOVID-19PandemicPost mortemSARS-CoV-2

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