COVID-19 lungs in post-mortem computed tomography

• DOI: 10.1007/s00194-021-00462-z
• Publication Date: 2021-02-18T22:47:45Z
• Authors: I. Kniep; A. Heinemann; C. Edler; J. P. Sperhake; K. Püschel; B. Ondruschka; A. S. Schröder
• Keywords: 2019-20 coronavirus outbreak

Post-mortem computed tomography (PMCT) is a rapid and noninvasive diagnostic tool for important contributions to the identification of pulmonary findings in the deceased with pneumonia, including cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although computed tomography (CT) shows a high sensitivity for pneumonia in living persons, it is relatively unspecific for COVID-19 pneumonia clinically. Typical CT findings for viral pneumonia therefore require confirmation by PCR tests (polymerase chain reaction tests), even if lung infections with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) show characteristic patterns, most frequently ground glass opacities (GGO) and a combination of GGO and air space consolidations. In the consecutive autopsy series of SARS-CoV‑2 deaths from Hamburg, Germany, the most frequent cause of death was and still is COVID-19 pneumonia. Typical findings were frequently found in the PMCT in SARS-CoV-2-associated deaths, which were taken into account when classifying the death as COVID-19.