tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
J Clin Med
. 2021 Sep 20;10(18):4256.
doi: 10.3390/jcm10184256.
Post-Mortem RT-PCR Assay for SARS-CoV-2 RNA in COVID-19 Patients' Corneal Epithelium, Conjunctival and Nasopharyngeal Swabs
Francesco Aiello[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Marco Ciotti[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Gabriele Gallo Afflitto[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Maria Cristina Rapanotti[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Bartolo Caggiano[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Michele Treglia[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Sandro Grelli[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Sergio Bernardini[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Silvestro Mauriello[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Carlo Nucci[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Luigi Tonino Marsella[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Raffaele Mancino[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease has been described to possibly be associated with ocular surface disturbances. However, whether the virus could invade ocular tissues still remains elusive. In the present study, we tried to investigate the post-mortem presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in corneal epithelium gathered by patients with an ante-mortem confirmed diagnosis of Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). Cadavers with an ante-mortem confirmed diagnosis of moderate to severe COVID-19 were examined. Clinical and demographic features were retrieved from hospital patients' notes. For each cadaver, corneal scrapings, conjunctival swabs (CS) and nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) were collected to perform real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction ((RT)-PCR) for SARS-CoV-2. Fourteen consecutive cadavers with an ante-mortem confirmed diagnosis of moderate to severe COVID-19 were examined. The last NPS performed ante-mortem confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in 12/14 (85.7%) patients. The mean death-to-swab time (DtS) was 3.15 ± 0.5 (2.10-5.1) h. The post-mortem NPS and CS found positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA were 9/14 (64.3%) and 3/28 (10.7%), respectively. None of the corneal epithelium scrapes tested positive to RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. These data promote the SARS-CoV-2 as not able to contaminate the post-mortem corneal epithelium, while it can persist in different other structures of the ocular surface (i.e., the conjunctiva). It is reasonable to assume that such a contamination can occur ante-mortem too.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; conjunctival swab; corneal scraping; coronavirus; coronavirus disease 2019; nasopharyngeal swab; novel coronavirus.
. 2021 Sep 20;10(18):4256.
doi: 10.3390/jcm10184256.
Post-Mortem RT-PCR Assay for SARS-CoV-2 RNA in COVID-19 Patients' Corneal Epithelium, Conjunctival and Nasopharyngeal Swabs
Francesco Aiello[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Marco Ciotti[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Gabriele Gallo Afflitto[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Maria Cristina Rapanotti[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Bartolo Caggiano[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Michele Treglia[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Sandro Grelli[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Sergio Bernardini[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Silvestro Mauriello[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Carlo Nucci[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Luigi Tonino Marsella[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Raffaele Mancino[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34575369
- DOI: 10.3390/jcm10184256
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease has been described to possibly be associated with ocular surface disturbances. However, whether the virus could invade ocular tissues still remains elusive. In the present study, we tried to investigate the post-mortem presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in corneal epithelium gathered by patients with an ante-mortem confirmed diagnosis of Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). Cadavers with an ante-mortem confirmed diagnosis of moderate to severe COVID-19 were examined. Clinical and demographic features were retrieved from hospital patients' notes. For each cadaver, corneal scrapings, conjunctival swabs (CS) and nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) were collected to perform real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction ((RT)-PCR) for SARS-CoV-2. Fourteen consecutive cadavers with an ante-mortem confirmed diagnosis of moderate to severe COVID-19 were examined. The last NPS performed ante-mortem confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in 12/14 (85.7%) patients. The mean death-to-swab time (DtS) was 3.15 ± 0.5 (2.10-5.1) h. The post-mortem NPS and CS found positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA were 9/14 (64.3%) and 3/28 (10.7%), respectively. None of the corneal epithelium scrapes tested positive to RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. These data promote the SARS-CoV-2 as not able to contaminate the post-mortem corneal epithelium, while it can persist in different other structures of the ocular surface (i.e., the conjunctiva). It is reasonable to assume that such a contamination can occur ante-mortem too.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; conjunctival swab; corneal scraping; coronavirus; coronavirus disease 2019; nasopharyngeal swab; novel coronavirus.