Ultrasound-guided post-mortem tissue sampling in the autopsy of COVID-19 cases: a pilot study

Objective: To investigate the application of post-mortem tissue sampling under ultrasonography guidance in the autopsy of COVID-19 cases Methods: Ultrasound-guided post-mortem tissue sampling of heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and spleen were performed in 24 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology from Feb 20 to Mar 28, 2020 Seventeen males and seven females aged 39-91(66 6±10 6) years old were enrolled The total time required for each post-mortem sampling was recorded, and the size of the samples collected from each organ was measured The success rate of ultrasound-guided post-mortem tissue sampling for each organ was calculated Results: Ultrasound images could clearly show the needle path and enabled accurate placement of the needle within the target organs, including heart, lung, liver, kidney, and spleen The total time required for sampling was about 32-54 (39 8±5 7)min The lengths of heart, lung, liver, kidney, and spleen tissues collected by ultrasound-guided sampling were 10(8, 14)mm, 13(12, 15)mm, 14(13, 15)mm, 13(11, 15)mm, 14(13, 15)mm, respectively The success rates of heart, lung, liver, kidney, and spleen tissue sampling under ultrasound guidance were 87 5% (21/24), 91 7%(44/48), 100%(24/24), 89 6%(43/48) and 83 3%(20/24), respectively Conclusions: Post-mortem sampling under ultrasonography guidance may be a rapid and reliable method for collecting of heart, lung, liver, kidney, and spleen tissues in the autopsy of COVID-19 cases © 2020 Chinese Medical Association