Pathology of COVID-19: A review of emerging evidences from autopsy studies

ABSTRACT

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease was first reported from Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and since then it continues to spread worldwide. Although there are rapidly increasing number of studies on epidemiologic characteristics and clinical aspects of COVID-19, its pathology still remains a largely unexplored territory, mainly due to limited autopsy studies. Autopsy studies are essential to demonstrate the spectrum of COVID-19-associated organ changes. This article reviews and highlights the important histopathological findings observed in different organ systems as evident from various published and anecdotal reports from across the world. Major histopathological findings in the lungs include different stages of Diffuse Alveolar Damage (DAD) and microthrombi along with variable degree of inflammation. Microscopic analysis of renal parenchyma may show acute tubular injury and fibrin thrombi in the glomerular capillaries. Heart, liver and brain show no significant inflammation.