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. 2020;30(5):336-343.
doi: 10.1007/s00194-020-00408-x. Epub 2020 Jul 6.

[Histopathological findings following SARS-CoV-2 infection with and without treatment-Report of three autopsies]

[Article in German]
R Dettmeyer  1 , G Lasczkowski  1 , A Weber  1 , T Wolter  1 , G Kernbach-Wighton  1
Affiliations

[Histopathological findings following SARS-CoV-2 infection with and without treatment-Report of three autopsies]

[Article in German]
R Dettmeyer et al. Rechtsmedizin (Berl). 2020.

Erratum in

Abstract
in English, German

According to the current state of knowledge, several internal organs are usually involved in cases of SARS-CoV‑2 infections with a fatal course. Pathological changes are primarily found in lung tissues but there are also reports concerning direct or indirect (histo)pathological changes due to SARS-CoV‑2 infections in samples from the kidneys, liver and myocardium. Comparing three fatal cases associated with SARS-CoV‑2 infections in men using conventional histological staining, there were partly identical findings that enabled interpretations with respect to the chronology and pathophysiology of the disease. Of the men two were invasively ventilated in the intensive care unit and one man died after 8 days in domestic quarantine without treatment. A wide spectrum of findings potentially associated with SARS-CoV‑2 must be taken into account.

Bei letalem Verlauf einer SARS-CoV-2-Infektion kommt nach bisherigem Kenntnisstand eine Beteiligung mehrerer innerer Organe in Betracht. Im Vordergrund stehen pathologische Befunde im Lungengewebe, berichtet wird aber auch von direkt oder indirekt als Folge einer Infektion mit SARS-CoV‑2 auftretenden (histo-)pathologischen Befunden im Nierengewebe, in der Leber und im Myokard. Der Vergleich der histopathologischen Diagnostik mit konventionell-histologischen Färbungen bei 3 im Zusammenhang mit einer SARS-CoV-2-Infektion verstorbenen Männern zeigt teils identische Befunde und erlaubt Überlegungen zu Chronologie und Pathophysiologie des Krankheitsverlaufes. Zwei Männer wurden intensivmedizinisch invasiv beatmet; ein Mann starb nach 8 Tagen häuslicher Quarantäne ohne Therapie. Es zeigt sich ein großes Spektrum SARS-CoV-2-assoziierter Befunde.

Keywords: COVID-19; Histopathology; Kidneys; Liver; Lungs; Myocardium.

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