Starting in 2020, the new crown has ravaged the world, disrupting almost everyone’s plans, putting a heavy burden on the medical systems of various countries, and bringing misfortune to countless families. As of the end of April 2022, the cumulative global death toll from COVID-19 has more than 6.25 million.
These lost lives are not cold numbers. They have lived alive, but the dead are gone. What we need to do is to find out the truth and avoid greater losses. To understand an unfamiliar disease, there is an inevitable “procedure”, and that is autopsy.
1. Why do you need to perform autopsy on the remains?
The dissection of the dead body is called pathological anatomy, commonly known as “autopsy”, that is, through the naked eye, microscopy or pathological techniques, the body of the deceased is comprehensively studied to understand the occurrence of disease, Develop and change processes to help clinicians understand disease.
The autopsy is a rigorous work of “a layman watching the fun, an expert watching the doorway”, which is of great significance. For example:
1. Determine the disease and the cause of death
Through autopsy, you can comprehensively observe the organ changes of the deceased, diagnose the disease, find out the cause of death, and provide clinical Treatment provides a reasonable basis, summarizing experience and lessons.
2. Understand new and difficult diseases
The pathological results of autopsy can provide important basis for determining the etiology of new and difficult diseases, such as understanding a disease. The cause of death of a new disease, and provide reference for treatment and prevention.
3. Discovery and Diagnosis of Certain Genetic Diseases
For unexplained and sudden death, autopsy can determine whether the deceased died of genetic disease Sexually transmitted diseases to remind family members to take precautions.
4. Collection of pathological specimens
Autopsy can collect pathological specimens of various diseases, which can be used for Science teaching provides theoretical knowledge and practical experience, and is a practical method to cultivate high-quality medical talents.
5. Providing Legal Evidence
For a disputed death, an autopsy can provide strong legal evidence.
As for the new coronavirus, there are still many questions that need to be answered, such as: Which organs are damaged by the virus? Where are they concentrated? Are the symptoms in the later stages of severe illness caused by the new coronavirus alone, or are immune cells involved?
These problems require the key of “anatomy” to open.
Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Bian Xiuwu believes that there is no alternative to autopsy, which can help to clarify the organ lesions and pathogenesis of the new crown, determine the cause of death, diagnose complications, and further improve the quality of life. Improve the level of treatment.
Second, autopsy of 1095 new crown deceased, experts found the direct cause of death
Recently, one so far The largest autopsy report of a new crown case to date was published in the journal The Lancet and completed by the RWTH Aachen Medical School in Germany.
The study samples were collected from 1095 COVID-19 (new coronavirus) autopsy cases across Germany. The researchers divided the autopsy cases into three groups according to the time when the new coronavirus was prevalent in Germany :
The first group: mainly infected with the original strain;
The second group: the alpha strain gradually increased, Germany began to open the elderly vaccination;
< p>The third group: mainly infected with alpha virus, and delta strains also began to appear.
Summarizing this report, we can find some important information, including:
1. Age of death
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Mainly the elderly, male cases are mainly concentrated in 65-69 years old and 80-84 years old, female cases are mainly in Age 85 and older. This may mean that the new coronavirus is relatively more harmful to older men.
2. Causes of death
86% of cases died from the underlying cause of COVID-19, the direct cause of death included diffuse Alveolar injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome, multiple organ failure, etc. The underlying causes of death in the remaining cases were heart disease, myocardial infarction, aspiration pneumonia, etc., and COVID-19 was a concomitant disease.
3. Time of death
In the three groups of cases, the time from diagnosis to death less than 2 weeks accounted for 49%, 52% and 41%; 38%, 37% and 45% of cases were 2-5 weeks old, respectively; 13%, 11% and 14% of cases were more than 5 weeks old, respectively %. That said, despite the passage of time and virus mutation, there are still many deaths within 2 weeks.
Experts advise that the deceased of the new crown are mainly the elderly. If you want to reduce the death rate of the new crown, you must protect the elderly and pay attention to the infection of the elderly in the first two weeks or even the first week. treatment.
Third, although the new coronavirus is “fierce”, it has 3 “weak points” p>
Although the new coronavirus is “ferocious”, it is not invulnerable. We can use its “weakness” to stay away from infection.
Weakness 1: Intolerant to high temperature
Through physical heating, the protein of the new coronavirus can be destroyed and inactivated. For example, use a steam sterilization cabinet or pot to sterilize heat-resistant items such as tableware, milk bottles, toys, etc., but pay attention to the temperature Above 56℃, disinfection time is more than 30 minutes to be effective.
Weakness 2: Not resistant to disinfectants
Alcohol has a certain fat solubility and can kill Viruses with an envelope structure dehydrate and denature proteins, resulting in virus inactivation. It is recommended to use 75% alcohol for the best disinfection effect. In addition, chlorine-containing disinfectants and peroxide-based disinfectants can also effectively kill viruses. Mostly used for daily necessities.
Weakness 3: Cannot spread over long distances
The spread of the new coronavirus It includes droplet transmission, contact transmission, aerosol transmission, etc., and cannot be transmitted over long distances.
Droplet transmission belongs to close contact, wearing a mask is the best protection method. Contact Transmission includes direct and indirect contact, and most of the virus is infected through damaged skin, conjunctiva, and nasal mucosa, so must pay attention to personal hygiene and wash hands frequently.
Aerosol transmission It mainly occurs in confined spaces, so wear a mask when going out, do not go to places where people gather, and ventilate your home diligently.
As the saying goes, if you know yourself and your enemy, you will be victorious in every battle. Humanity has entered the third year of fighting against the new crown. It is hoped that with the further deepening of understanding, the new crown epidemic can subside as soon as possible, We can return to the life before the epidemic as soon as possible.
< strong>References:
[1]What is the significance of pathological autopsy of cadavers. Li Wencai, Zhang Yanping , Chinese Medical Association Branch of Pathology. 2020-02-23
[2]First report from the German COVID-19 autopsy registry. thelancet. February 17, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org /10.1016/j.lanepe.2022.100330
[3] Cong Bin. Forensic Pathology [M]. 5th ed. ]Research reveals: what is the cause of death of new crown patients. International Science. 2022-04-13