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Background Minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS), a postmortem procedure that uses core needle biopsy samples and does not require opening the body, may be a valid alternative to complete autopsy (CA) in highly infectious diseases such as coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). This study aimed to (1) compare the performance of MITS and CA in a series of COVID-19 deaths and (2) evaluate the safety of the procedure. Methods From October 2020 to February 2021, MITS was conducted in 12 adults who tested positive before death for COVID-19, in a standard, well-ventilated autopsy room, where personnel used reinforced personal protective equipment. In 9 cases, a CA was performed after MITS. A thorough histological evaluation was conducted, and the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was evaluated by real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry. Results The diagnoses provided by MITS and CA matched almost perfectly. In 9 patients, COVID-19 was in the chain of events leading to death, being responsible for diffuse alveolar damage and mononuclear T-cell inflammatory response in the lungs. No specific COVID-19 features were identified. Three deaths were not related to COVID-19. All personnel involved in MITS repeatedly tested negative for COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 was identified by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry in the MITS samples, particularly in the lungs. Conclusions MITS is useful for evaluating COVID-19–related deaths in settings where a CA is not feasible. The results of this simplified and safer technique are comparable to those of CA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seventeen deceased patients with microscopic diagnosis of P. vivax infection were fully autopsied in a tertiary care center in the Brazilian Amazon. In 13, vivax malaria was the major cause of death. Coinfections and comorbidities were also very frequent.Background. Severe disease attributable to Plasmodium vivax infection is already well described worldwide; however, autopsies in these patients are scarce.Methods. From 1996 to 2010, 19 patient deaths with a clinical diagnosis of P. vivax infection occurred in a tertiary care center in the Brazilian Amazon. Seventeen of these 19 deaths were fully autopsied. Clinical charts, macroscopic autopsy reports, and stored paraffinized tissue blocks were retrieved. Nested polymerase chain reaction was performed in paraffinized samples of spleen and lung to confirm P. vivax monoinfection. Immunohistofluorescence was used to detect P. vivax parasitized red blood cells (RBCs).Results. Of 17 autopsies, 13 revealed that death could be attributed to P. vivax infection; in the remaining 4, acute diseases other than malaria were found to be the cause of death. The primary complication in patients in which malaria contributed to death was acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and pulmonary edema associated with the accumulation of neutrophils in the interalveolar space (6 cases). Spleen rupture (3 cases) and multiorgan dysfunction syndrome (3 cases) were the second most common complications. One child evolving with coma was also characterized, but no parasite was detected in the brain tissue. In one patient who developed ARDS and presented negative peripheral parasitemia by the time of death, scattered parasitized red blood cells were seen inside pulmonary capillaries, suggesting some sequestration in the lung.Conclusions. In 13 of 17 deceased patients, P. vivax infection was the plausible cause of death. However, more studies are needed to understand pathogenesis related to severe disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]