Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34910177›Full record

ArticleClinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America2021

Histopathological Evaluation of Deceased Persons in Lusaka, Zambia With or Without Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Infection: Results Obtained From Minimally Invasive Tissue Sampling.

Victor Mudenda, Chibamba Mumba, Rachel C Pieciak, Lawrence Mwananyanda, Charles Chimoga, Benard Ngoma, Zacharia Mupila, Geoffrey Kwenda, Leah Forman, Rotem Lapidot and 3 more

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 27% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Minimally Invasive Tissue Sampling Surveillance Alliance-Facilitating the Expansion of Pathology-Based Mortality Surveillance.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2021
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Victor MudendaUniversity Teaching Hospital, Department of Pathology, Lusaka, Zambia.
Chibamba MumbaUniversity Teaching Hospital, Department of Pathology, Lusaka, Zambia.
Rachel C PieciakBoston University School of Public Health, Department of Global Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5893-1065
Lawrence MwananyandaBoston University School of Public Health, Department of Global Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Charles ChimogaRight to Care Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
Benard NgomaRight to Care Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
Zacharia MupilaRight to Care Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
Geoffrey KwendaUniversity of Zambia, School of Health Sciences, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Lusaka, Zambia.
Leah FormanBoston University School of Public Health, Biostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center (BEDAC), Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Rotem LapidotBoston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
William B MacLeodBoston University School of Public Health, Department of Global Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Donald M TheaBoston University School of Public Health, Department of Global Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Christopher J GillBoston University School of Public Health, Department of Global Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Boston University · USRight to Care · ZMUniversity Teaching Hospital · ZMUniversity of Zambia · ZM

Funding

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation OPP1163027
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAlthough much has been learned about the pathophysiology of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections, pathology data from patients who have died of COVID-19 in low- and middle-income country settings remain sparse. We integrated minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS) into an ongoing postmortem surveillance study of COVID-19 in deceased individuals of all ages in Lusaka, Zambia.

methodsWe enrolled deceased subjects from the University Teaching Hospital Morgue in Lusaka, Zambia within 48 hours of death. We collected clinical and demographic information, a nasopharyngeal swab, and core tissue biopsies from the lung, liver, and kidneys for pathologic analysis. Individuals were considered eligible for MITS if they had a respiratory syndrome prior to death or a COVID-19+ polymerase chain reaction (PCR) nasopharyngeal swab specimen. Samples were retested using quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR.

resultsFrom June to September 2020 we performed MITS on 29 deceased individuals. PCR results were available for 28/29 (96.5%) cases. Three had a COVID-19+ diagnosis antemortem, and 5 more were identified postmortem using the recommended cycle threshold cut-point <40. When expanding the PCR threshold to 40 ≤ cycle threshold (Ct) ≤ 45, we identified 1 additional case. Most cases were male and occurred in the community The median age at death was 47 years (range 40-64). Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS, tuberculosis, and diabetes were more common among the COVID-19+ cases. Diffuse alveolar damage and interstitial pneumonitis were common among COVID-19+ cases; nonspecific findings of hepatic steatosis and acute kidney injury were also prevalent in the COVID-19+ group. Vascular thrombi were rarely detected.

conclusionsLung abnormalities typical of viral pneumonias were common among deceased COVID-19+ individuals, as were nonspecific findings in the liver and kidneys. Pulmonary vascular thrombi were rarely detected, which could be a limitation of the MITS technique. Nonetheless, MITS offers a valuable alternative to open autopsy for understanding pathological changes due to COVID-19.

Indexed as

COVID-19AdultAutopsyHumansMaleMiddle AgedSARS-CoV-2SyndromeZambiaautopsyCOVID-19minimally invasive tissue samplingpathologypostmortem

Identifiers

PMID34910177
PMCPMC8672753
OpenAlexW4200509868

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.