An autopsy study of the spectrum of severe COVID-19 in children: From SARS to different phenotypes of MIS-C

• Published in: EClinicalMedicine Vol. 35; p. 100850
• Main Authors: Duarte-Neto, Amaro Nunes, Caldini, Elia Garcia, Gomes-Gouvêa, Michele Soares, Kanamura, Cristina Takami, de Almeida Monteiro, Renata Aparecida, Ferranti, Juliana Ferreira, Ventura, Andrea Maria Cordeiro, Regalio, Fabiane Aliotti, Fiorenzano, Daniela Matos, Gibelli, Maria Augusta Bento Cicaroni, Carvalho, Werther Brunow de, Leal, Gabriela Nunes, Pinho, João Renato Rebello, Delgado, Artur Figueiredo, Carneiro-Sampaio, Magda, Mauad, Thais, Ferraz da Silva, Luiz Fernando, Saldiva, Paulo Hilario Nascimento, Dolhnikoff, Marisa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-05-2021; Elsevier
• Subjects: Autopsy; Children; Covid-19; Minimally invasive autopsy; MIS-C, multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children; Pathology; Research Paper; Sars-cov-2; Sars-cov-2; Minimally invasive autopsy; Pathology; Covid-19; Autopsy; Children; MIS-C, multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children
• ISSN: 2589-5370; 2589-5370
• DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.100850

COVID-19 in children is usually mild or asymptomatic, but severe and fatal paediatric cases have been described. The pathology of COVID-19 in children is not known; the proposed pathogenesis for severe cases includes immune-mediated mechanisms or the direct effect of SARS-CoV-2 on tissues. We describe the autopsy findings in five cases of paediatric COVID-19 and provide mechanistic insight into the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of the disease.
Children and adolescents who died with COVID-19 between March 18 and August 15, 2020 were autopsied with a minimally invasive method. Tissue samples from all vital organs were analysed by histology, electron microscopy (EM), reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC).
Five patients were included, one male and four female, aged 7 months to 15 years. Two patients had severe diseases before SARS-CoV-2 infection: adrenal carcinoma and Edwards syndrome. Three patients were previously healthy and had multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) with distinct clinical presentations: myocarditis, colitis, and acute encephalopathy with status epilepticus. Autopsy findings varied amongst patients and included mild to severe COVID-19 pneumonia, pulmonary microthrombosis, cerebral oedema with reactive gliosis, myocarditis, intestinal inflammation, and haemophagocytosis. SARS-CoV-2 was detected in all patients in lungs, heart and kidneys by at least one method (RT-PCR, IHC or EM), and in endothelial cells from heart and brain in two patients with MIS-C (IHC). In addition, we show for the first time the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the brain tissue of a child with MIS-C with acute encephalopathy, and in the intestinal tissue of a child with acute colitis. Interpretation: SARS-CoV-2 can infect several cell and tissue types in paediatric patients, and the target organ for the clinical manifestation varies amongst individuals. Two major patterns of severe COVID-19 were observed: a primarily pulmonary disease, with severe acute respiratory disease and diffuse alveolar damage, or a multisystem inflammatory syndrome with the involvement of several organs. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 in several organs, associated with cellular ultrastructural changes, reinforces the hypothesis that a direct effect of SARS-CoV-2 on tissues is involved in the pathogenesis of MIS-C.
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.