Effect of Time Since Death on Multipathogen Molecular Test Results of Postmortem Specimens Collected Using Minimally Invasive Tissue Sampling Techniques.

Background: We used postmortem minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS) to assess the effect of time since death on molecular detection of pathogens among respiratory illness-associated deaths.

Methods: Samples were collected from 20 deceased children (aged 1-59 months) hospitalized with respiratory illness from May 2018 through February 2019. Serial lung and/or liver and blood samples were collected using MITS starting soon after death and every 6 hours thereafter for up to 72 hours.

Building Global Capacity to Conduct Pathology-Based Postmortem Examination: Establishing a New Training Hub for Minimally Invasive Tissue Sampling.

Background: Minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS), an alternative to complete diagnostic autopsy, is a pathology-based postmortem examination that has been validated in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and can provide accurate cause of death information when used with other data. The MITS Surveillance Alliance was established in 2017 with the goal to expand MITS globally by increasing training capacity, accessibility, and availability in LMICs. Between January 2019 and May 2020, the MITS Surveillance Alliance convened a multidisciplinary team of technical advisors to attain this goal.