Long-Term Persisting SARS-CoV-2 RNA and Pathological Findings: Lessons Learnt From a Series of 35 COVID-19 Autopsies

Maccio, Umberto; Zinkernagel, Annelies S; Schüpbach, Reto; Probst-Mueller, Elsbeth; Frontzek, Karl; Brugger, Silvio D; Hofmaenner, Daniel Andrea; Moch, Holger; Varga, Zsuzsanna

doi:10.3389/fmed.2022.778489

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Maccio, U., Zinkernagel, A. S., Schüpbach, R., Probst-Mueller, E., Frontzek, K., Brugger, S. D., Hofmaenner, D. A., Moch, H., & Varga, Z. (2022). Long-Term Persisting SARS-CoV-2 RNA and Pathological Findings: Lessons Learnt From a Series of 35 COVID-19 Autopsies. Frontiers in Medicine, 9, 778489. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2022.778489

Abstract

Long-term sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), including the interaction between persisting viral-RNA and specific tissue involvement, pose a challenging issue. In this study, we addressed the chronological correlation (after first clinical diagnosis and postmortem) between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA and organ involvement.MethodsThe presence of postmortem SARS-CoV-2 RNA from 35 complete COVID-19 autopsies was correlated with the time interval between the first diagnosis of COVID-19 and