Causes of death and post-mortem testing for SARS-CoV-2 in a tertiary hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana
Afr. j. lab. med. (Online)
;
11(1): 1-8, 2022. figures, tables
Article
in English
| AIM
| ID: biblio-1400558
ABSTRACT
Background:
Causes of death during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic ranhttp//crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1766=pdf&date_stamp=2022-11-23ge from direct consequences of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection to deaths unrelated to SARS-CoV-2. Another feature of the pandemic is the post-mortem testing for SARS-CoV-2. Understanding these aspects of COVID-19 are essential in planning and limiting the impact of SARS-CoV-2 virus on healthcare systems.Objective:
This study investigated the underlying causes of death and the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in bodies received at the 37 Military Hospital, Accra, Ghana, during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods:
The study was conducted from 427 May 2020. Deceased patients that met the inclusion criteria were prospectively selected during the expanded surveillance period for SARS-CoV-2 testing, autopsy and determination of underlying and immediate cause of death.Results:
A total of 161 deceased patients were analysed with 53 autopsies. The overall positive test rate for SARS-CoV-2 was 14.9% (24/161 patients), with a positive rate of 5.0% (8/161 patients) for nasopharyngeal samples and 30.2% (16/161 patients) for bronchopulmonary samples. The underlying causes of death were not related to SARS-CoV-2 infection in 85.1% (137/161) of patients, SARS-CoV-2-associated 12.4% (20/161) and SARS-CoV-2-induced in 2.5% (4/161). Cardiovascular complications formed the most common cause of death in patients with or without SARS-CoV-2.Conclusion:
There was a high positive rate of SARS-CoV-2 in post-mortem cases. However, most deaths were not caused by SARS-CoV-2 but by cardiovascular complications. The high rate of bronchopulmonary positive results for SARS-CoV-2 requires that autopsies be done in suspicious cases with negative nasopharyngeal sampling.
Full text:
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Index:
AIM (Africa)
Main subject:
Cause of Death
/
Delivery of Health Care
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
/
Hospitals, Military
Type of study:
Etiology study
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
English
Journal:
Afr. j. lab. med. (Online)
Year:
2022
Type:
Article
Institution/Affiliation country:
Department of Medicine, 37 Military Hospital/GH
/
Public Health Division, 37 Military Hospital/GH
/
ostgraduate College, 37 Military Hospital, Accra, Ghana Seth Attoh, Department of Anatomical Pathology, 37 Military Hospital/GH
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