Introduction:

Post mortem studies are essential during epidemics of unknown etiology. Objective: to characterize the histopathological findings of autopsies performed during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Methods:

this is a series of case study of minimally invasive autopsies of 50 decedents positives for SARS-CoV-2 infection that occurred from April to September 2020.

Results:

COVID-19 was the basic cause of death for 27 decedents (54%) and the contributing cause for 6 cases (12%). The acute lung damage predominated, followed by acute kidney injury (78%); small vacuoles fatty liver (54%), and focal mild to moderate myocarditis (18%). The presence of viral antigens in the alveolar, bronchiolar and renal tubular epithelial cells was detected. Conclusions: The minimally invasive autopsy became a practical and useful method for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) decedents but usual biosafety precautions should be reinforced in order to avoid generation of aerosols.

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