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. 2022 Jul:57:102045.
doi: 10.1016/j.legalmed.2022.102045. Epub 2022 Feb 25.

Post-mortem histopathology of pituitary and adrenals of COVID-19 patients

Antonia Fitzek  1 , Moritz Gerling  1 , Klaus Püschel  1 , Wolfgang Saeger  2
Affiliations

Post-mortem histopathology of pituitary and adrenals of COVID-19 patients

Antonia Fitzek et al. Leg Med (Tokyo). 2022 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Knowledge of the exact organ manifestation is essential for a comprehensive understanding of COVID-19 infection. Here, the histopathological changes in the pituitary and adrenal glands were analyzed.

Methods: In this series, the formalin-fixed tissues of 63 pituitary glands and 50 adrenal glands were examined. We performed HE and PAS staining and examined COVID-19 nucleocapsid antibody immunohistochemically in the pituitary glands and adrenals.

Results: Histologically, there was no evidence of COVID-19-specific changes in the pituitary and adrenal glands. Large pituitary necrosis may be interpreted as a shock reaction. Independent of infection, we found one T-cell lymphoma, two adenomas, and four Rathke-type cysts in the pituitary glands, and 70% of the adrenal glands showed decreased lipid content and an increase in compact cells as a stress response. In addition, a cortical adenoma in one adrenal gland and small cortical nodules in three adrenal glands were detected independently of COVID-19.

Conclusion: Pituitary and adrenal glands do not appear histologically predominant in the course of COVID-19.

Keywords: Adrenal; COVID-19 infection; Histopathology; Pituitary.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Necrosis of the anterior pituitary. Amorphous parenchymal tissue with bleedings (left side), preserved tissue (right side). A: Hematoxylin-eosin stain, 180x, B: PAS-reaction, 440x.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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