Periodontal tissues are targets for Sars-Cov-2: a post-mortem study
Bruno Fernandes Matuck, Marisa Dolhnikoff, Gilvan V. A. Maia, Daniel Isaac Sendyk, Amanda Zarpellon, Sara Costa Gomes, Amaro Nunes Duarte‐Neto, João Renato Rebello Pinho, Michele Soares Gomes‐Gouvêa, S.C.O.M. de Sousa, Thaís Mauad, Paulo Hilário Nascimento Saldiva, Paulo Henrique Braz‐Silva, Luiz Fernando Ferraz da Silva
Abstract
Background: The ability of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 to spread is one of the determinants of the COVID-19 pandemic status. Until June 2020, global COVID-19 cases surpassed 10 million. Asymptomatic patients, with no respiratory impairment, are believed to be responsible for more than 80% of the transmission. Other viruses have been consistently detected in periodontal tissues.Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in periodontal tissue.Methods: We conducted video-endoscope minimally invasive post-mortem biopsy in seven fatal cases of COVID-19, using a regular endoscope video system associated with a smartphone to locate periodontal tissue. We analyzed the samples using RT-PCR, to identify the SARS-CoV-2 RNA and histopathological analysis.Results: The seven studied autopsies with positive laboratory tests for COVID-19 included 57.14% of female patients at the average age of 47.4 (range 8 to 74). In five cases, periodontal tissue was positive for SARS-CoV-2 (RT-PCR). Histopathologic analyses showed morphologic alterations in the keratinocytes of the junctional epithelium, a vacuolization of the cytoplasm and nucleus and nuclear pleomorphism.Conclusion: We presented a biomolecular analysis obtained from minimally invasive autopsies. This is the first study to demonstrate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in periodontal tissue in COVID-19 positive patients.