Blood clots, lung injuries found in patients who have died of Covid: Study

The research team behind the study believe that the findings could help guide clinicians on treating complications as a result of Covid

Ten post-mortem examinations performed on patients with confirmed COVID-19 found that all patients had lung injuries and early scarring of the lungs as a result of the virus, as well as injury to their kidneys. Nine patients also had thrombosis – a blood clot, in at least one major organ (heart, lung or kidney).

The team was unable to investigate thrombosis in the tenth patient. The research team behind the study believe that the findings could help guide clinicians on treating complications as a result of COVID-19, such as using blood thinners to prevent blood clots from developing. They also hope that a better understanding of the key complications in severe cases could help clinicians develop new ways to monitor and treat the disease.

The study, published in The Lancet Microbe, was led by researchers at Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Although the number of patients examined is small, this is the largest study to date of post-mortem examinations on COVID-19 patients in England.

Dr Michael Osborn, Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London, Consultant Pathologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and co-author of the study, said: “COVID-19 is a new disease and we have only had limited opportunities to comprehensively analyse tissues from patients at autopsy, to better understand what caused a patient’s illness and death for research purposes.