Histopathological and serological findings of lung, liver and heart in a patient with corona virus disease-2019 (COVID -19): A case report

Abstract

This study aimed to report histopathological features and serological outputs of the lung, heart and liver in a patient suffered from Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). A woman was admitted to the Razi Hospital, Rasht city, Iran with the symptoms of cough, dyspnea, fever and myalgia. She had also Parkinson’s disease (PD); she had no history of respiratory, cardiovascular, renal and gastrointestinal diseases and alcohol consumption. COVID-19 infection was proved by the Real time-PCR (RT-qPCR) test. The required specimen was obtained from nasopharyngeal swab; however, lung radiologic findings revealed atypical signs of COVID-19. The patient expired after 8 days of admission. After death, needle biopsy was performed for histopathologic evaluation of the heart, lung and liver tissues. The RT-qPCR was performed to evaluate the presence of Coronavirus in the tissues. The pathological biopsies showed advanced alveolar damages in the lung, periportal inflammation in the liver, spread steatosis in the hepatocytes and moderate myocarditis in the heart. However, the RT-qPCR test was negative for these tissues, but alterations in the above-mentioned areas may be due to the secondary side effects of COVID-19 infection or pharmacological treatments.