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. 2024 Dec 5;14(23):2737.
doi: 10.3390/diagnostics14232737.

Nosocomial Bacterial Bronchopneumonia and SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia in Patients with Traumatic Injuries: Imaging Aspects and Macroscopic and Microscopic Findings of Lung Tissue

Georgiana-Denisa Gavriliţă  1   2   3 , Ştefania Ungureanu  1   2   3   4 , Ecaterina Dăescu  2   5 , Mircea-Nicu Gavriliță  2 , Cristian-Cosmin Ţîncu  6 , Alexandra Enache  2   3   4
Affiliations

Nosocomial Bacterial Bronchopneumonia and SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia in Patients with Traumatic Injuries: Imaging Aspects and Macroscopic and Microscopic Findings of Lung Tissue

Georgiana-Denisa Gavriliţă et al. Diagnostics (Basel). .

Abstract

Background: Patients with traumatic injuries often represent the best hosts for healthcare-associated infections, especially pneumonia or bronchopneumonia. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic raised serious problems in the diagnosis and treatment of patients that had a SARS-CoV-2 infection and associated nosocomial bacterial bronchopneumonia. In forensic medicine, these aspects need to be considered when establishing the cause of death and the distinction between the two types of bronchopneumonia is of particular importance.

Methods: We present nine cases that were autopsied at the Institute of Forensic Medicine Timisoara between 1 June 2020 and 31 December 2021, that presented traumatic injuries, a SARS-CoV-2 infection, and bronchopneumonia.

Results: We focused on the main findings of the macroscopic and microscopic aspects of lung tissues.

Conclusions: We consider that the aspects we highlighted in this study, can be very useful in forensic practice in cases with a pluri-factorial pathology.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia; nosocomial bronchopneumonia; traumatic injuries.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Macroscopic changes of the lungs.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Histopathological pulmonary findings.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Sectioned lung at autopsy: macroscopic aspect of bronchopneumonia: consolidation of the lung with edema and thrombus (A), condensed lung, purulent secretion in lower bronchi (B).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Lung tissue with bronchiole with purulent exudate (A), condensation area with different types of alveolitis (granulocytic alveolitis, fibrinous and leucocytic alveolitis, hemorrhagic alveolitis) (B), hyaline membranes on alveolar duct or sacs (C), and intraluminal thrombus (D).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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