Fatal cases after Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 infection: Results of an autopsy study.

Objectives: Omicron lineages BA.1/2 are considered to cause mild clinical courses. Nevertheless, fatal cases after those infections are recognized but little is known about risk factors.

Successful Treatment of a Patient with COVID-19-Induced Severe ARDS, Pneumothorax, and Pneumomediastinum with Awake vv-ECMO Implantation.

Management of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is still a challenge for the staff on intensive-care units (ICU's) around the world. Many of these patients are treated with invasive ventilation. Sometimes, the occurrence of pneumothorax and/or pneumomediastinum can complicate the course of the disease because initiation of invasive ventilation might be fatal in those patients.

High viral loads: what drives fatal cases of COVID-19 in vaccinees? - an autopsy study.

The rate of SARS-CoV-2 infections in vaccinees has become a relevant serious issue. This study aimed to determine the causes of death, histological organ alteration, and viral spread in relation to demographic, clinical-pathological, viral variants, and vaccine types for deceased individuals with proven SARS-CoV-2 infection after vaccination who died between January and November 2021. Twenty-nine consecutively collected cases were analyzed and compared to 141 nonvaccinated control cases.

Impaired Dendritic Cell Homing in COVID-19.

The high mortality of COVID-19 is mostly attributed to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), whose histopathological correlate is diffuse alveolar damage (DAD). Furthermore, severe COVID-19 is often accompanied by a cytokine storm and a disrupted response of the adaptive immune system. Studies aiming to depict this dysregulation have mostly investigated the peripheral cell count as well as the functionality of immune cells.

[Deep Vein Thrombosis in Intensive Care Patients with COVID-19 Infection - Impact of a Standardised Therapeutic Regimen].

Background And Objectives: It has been reported that the risk of deep vein thrombosis is greater in patients with COVID-19 infection. We have now investigated whether a standardised therapy can reduce the risk of DVT.

Materials And Methods: After establishing standard therapy with anticoagulation, steroids and convalescent plasma, we screened 20 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia for DVT by ultrasound examination.

Whole-genome analysis of SARS-CoV-2 samples indicate no tissue specific genetic adaptation of the virus in COVID-19 patients' upper and lower respiratory tract.

Sample panels of SARS-CoV-2 cases were retrospectively whole-genome sequenced. In three individuals, samples of upper and lower respiratory tract resulted in identical sequences suggesting virus stability including the spike protein cleavage site. In a fourth case, low-level intra-host genomic evolution and a unique 5-nucleotide deletion was observed.

Viral mapping in COVID-19 deceased in the Augsburg autopsy series of the first wave: A multiorgan and multimethodological approach.

Background: COVID-19 is only partly understood, and the level of evidence available in terms of pathophysiology, epidemiology, therapy, and long-term outcome remains limited. During the early phase of the pandemic, it was necessary to effectively investigate all aspects of this new disease. Autopsy can be a valuable procedure to investigate the internal organs with special techniques to obtain information on the disease, especially the distribution and type of organ involvement.

Expression of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase in tumor endothelial cells correlates with long-term survival of patients with renal cell carcinoma.

Purpose: The inflammatory enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) participates in immune tolerance and tumor immune escape processes by degradation of the essential amino acid tryptophan and formation of toxic catabolites. Here, we analyzed the role of IDO in tumor growth and disease progression in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Experimental Design: Expression of IDO mRNA was analyzed by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR in 55 primary and 52 metastatic RCC, along with 32 normal kidneys.