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As shown by autopsy of patients who died from COVID-19. Reedus

Scientists at the University of Louisiana conducted a study in which they performed the first series of autopsies of African Americans who died from COVID-19 in New Orleans. The results of the study are published in the journal Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

We found that the small vessels and capillaries in the lungs were clogged with blood clots and associated hemorrhages, which significantly contributed to the deterioration and death in these patients, the scientists said.


During the autopsy, scientists also found an increased level of D-dimers – protein fragments involved in the destruction of blood clots. Interestingly, experts did not see myocarditis or inflammation of the heart muscle, which, according to early reports, significantly contributed to the death of COVID-19.

The patients were both men and women aged 40 to 70 years. All were African American, and many had a history of arterial hypertension, obesity, type 2 diabetes or chronic kidney disease.

Those patients in the hospital from three days to one week who started to have a mild cough and fever (up to 39 ° C) experienced sudden respiratory decompensation. A chest x-ray revealed bilateral pneumonia.

Also during the autopsy, scientists discovered the most widespread damage in the structures of the lungs involved in gas exchange observed in the first SARS epidemic. This is coagulation of small vessels, which is apparently specific for COVID caused by SARS-CoV-2.

Autopsies were performed at the University Medical Center in New Orleans, which was built after Hurricane Katrina. It is one of the few hospitals in the United States to have an autopsy kit that complies with CDC standards for safe autopsy of covid-19 positive patients.

The key findings of our study include the discovery of a mechanism for the development of severe pathology among the African American population, probably spreading to all people with a serious illness and, possibly, a target for immediate therapeutic treatment, the scientists concluded.

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