Laura Filograna , Guglielmo Manenti , Simone Grassi , Massimo Zedda , Francesca Cazzato , Colleen P. Ryan , Vincenzo Arena , Vincenzo L. Pascali , Cesare Colosimo , Roberto Floris , Antonio Oliva
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引用次数: 4
Abstract
It is well documented that COVID-19 vaccines are effective tools for limiting the pandemic. Unfortunately, as is true for all vaccines, SARS-CoV-2 infection in vaccinated individuals is still possible.
We present an autopsy case of SARS-CoV-2 infection after vaccination (“breakthrough infection”) in an elderly man with several comorbidities where post-mortem CT scan was performed. The death was histologically attributed to cardio-respiratory arrest due to ischemic heart failure related to superinfected COVID-19 pneumonia and pre-existing comorbidities. For the first time in the literature, PMCT imaging related to a fatal, autopsy case of breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection is reported. PMCT of the lungs, in accordance with histopathological results, showed few signs of COVID-19 pneumonia, large area of consolidation in the right lower lobe, interpreted as bronco-pneumonic focus, and hypostasis.
These findings were well-correlated with the previously reported literature about both PMCT and clinical CT imaging of the lungs in non-vaccinated individuals with early COVID-19 pneumonia and about pulmonary clinical CT imaging in COVID-19 pneumonia in breakthrough SARS-COV-2 infections.
Further studies are needed to cover the whole spectrum of PMCT lung imaging in fatal breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection, however, this case represent a first step for exploring this difficult challenge during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic using virtual autopsy.