Volume 30, No 6, Jun 2020

ISSN: 1001-0602 
EISSN: 1748-7838 2018 
impact factor 17.848* 
(Clarivate Analytics, 2019)

Volume 30 Issue 6, June 2020: 541-543   |  Open Access

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Pathological evidence for residual SARS-CoV-2 in pulmonary tissues of a ready-for-discharge patient

Xiao-Hong Yao^1,2,† , Zhi-Cheng He^1,2,† , Ting-Yuan Li^3,† , Hua-Rong Zhang^1,2,† , Yan Wang^1,2,† , Huaming Mou⁴ , Qiaonan Guo⁵ , Shi-Cang Yu^1,2,6 , Yanqing Ding⁷ , Xindong Liu^1,2,* , Yi-Fang Ping^1,2,* , Xiu-Wu Bian^1,2,*

¹Institute of Pathology & Southwest Cancer Center, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing 400038, China;
²Key Laboratory of Tumor Immunopathology, Ministry of Education of China, Chongqing 400038, China;
³Department of Vascular Surgery, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing 400038, China;
⁴Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Chongqing Three Gorges Central Hospital, Chongqing 404000, China;
⁵Department of Pathology, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing 400038, China;
⁶Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing 400038, China;
⁷Department of Pathology, Nan Fang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
^†These authors contributed equally
Correspondence: Xindong Liu(xindongliu@hotmail.com)Yi-Fang Ping(pingyifang@126.com)Xiu-Wu Bian(bianxiuwu@263.net)

Dear Editor,

SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus and causing COVID-19, has given rise to a worldwide pandemic.1,2 So far, tens of thousands of COVID-19 patients have been clinically cured and discharged, but multiple COVID-19 cases showed SARS-CoV-2 positive again  in discharged patients,3 which raises an attention for the discharged patients. Also, there is an urgent need to understand the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here, we conducted postmortem pathologic study in a ready-for-discharge COVID-19 patient who succumbed to sudden cardiovascular accident. Pathological examination revealed SARS-CoV-2-viruses remaining in pneumocytes and virus-caused pathological changes in the lungs. Our study provided new insights into SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis and might facilitate the improvement of clinical guideline for virus containment and disease management.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41422-020-0318-5

FULL TEXT | PDF

Browse 920