Causes of death and post-mortem testing for SARS-CoV-2 in a tertiary hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana
African Journal of Laboratory Medicine
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Causes of death and post-mortem testing for SARS-CoV-2 in a tertiary hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana | |
| Creator | Asumanu, Edward Attoh, Seth Servor, Raymond X. Laryea, Clement McAddy, Mary Hobenu, Fred Factchu, Raymond Agyemang-Bediako, Kwesi Nyarko, Edward O. Nyarko, Godwin K. Moroti, Marcus K. Edusei, Lawrence | |
| Description | Background: Causes of death during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic ranhttp://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1766=pdfdate_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 4–27 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. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2022-11-23 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1766 | |
| Source | African Journal of Laboratory Medicine; Vol 11, No 1 (2022); 8 pages 2225-2010 2225-2002 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
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https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/1766/2482
https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/1766/2483
https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/1766/2484
https://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/1766/2485
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