Histopathology and ultrastructural findings of fatal COVID-19 infections in Washington State: a case series

The Lancet, 2020

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of an ongoing pandemic, with increasing deaths worldwide. To date, documentation of the histopathological features in fatal cases of the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) has been scarce due to sparse autopsy performance and incomplete organ sampling. Bradley at al. aimed to provide a clinicopathological report of severe COVID-19 cases by documenting histopathological changes and evidence of SARS-CoV-2 tissue tropism.

The primary pathology observed in this cohort was diffuse alveolar damage, with virus located in the pneumocytes and tracheal epithelium. Microthrombi, where observed, were scarce and endotheliitis was not identified. Although other non-pulmonary organs showed susceptibility to infection, their contribution to the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection requires further examination.

SARS-CoV / SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) spike antibody [1A9] (GTX632604) by our partner GeneTex was used in this study for immunohistochemical examination of tissue derived from patients who died with COVID-19.