Undetected Causes of Death in Hospitalized Elderly with COVID-19: Lessons from Autopsy.
J Clin Med
; 10(7)2021 Mar 24.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33804890
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Mechanisms and causes of death in older patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection are still poorly understood.METHODS:
We conducted in a retrospective monocentric study, a clinical chart review and post-mortem examination of patients aged 75 years and older hospitalized in acute care and positive for SARS-CoV-2. Full body autopsy and correlation with clinical findings and suspected causes of death were done.RESULTS:
Autopsies were performed in 12 patients (median age 85 years; median of 4 comorbidities, mainly hypertension and cardiovascular disease). All cases showed exudative or proliferative phases of alveolar damage and/or a pattern of organizing pneumonia. Causes of death were concordant in 6 cases (50%), and undetected diagnoses were found in 6. Five patients died from hypoxemic respiratory failure due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), five had another associated diagnosis and two died from alternative causes. Deaths that occurred in the second week were related to SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia whereas those occurring earlier were related mainly to heart failure and those occurring later to complications.CONCLUSIONS:
Although COVID-19 hypoxemic respiratory failure was the most common cause of death, post-mortem pathological examination revealed that acute decompensation from chronic comorbidities during the first week of COVID-19 and complications in the third week contributed to mortality.
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article