Table 2.
Histological findings of patients with positive and negative SARS‐CoV‐2 RT‐PCR compared to controls.
| COVID‐19 patients | Controls (n = 10) | Significance between RT‐PCR positive, negative, and controls (P value) | Significance between COVID‐19 patients and controls (P value) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Myocardial RT‐PCR positive (n = 14) | Myocardial RT‐PCR negative (n = 9) | All (n = 23) | ||||
| Hypertrophy (%) | 0.08 | 0.06 | ||||
| None | 1 (7) | 1 (11) | 2 (9) | 2 (20) | ||
| Mild | 7 (50) | 5 (56) | 12 (52) | 8 (80) | ||
| Marked | 6 (43) | 3 (33) | 9 (39) | 0 (0) | ||
| Overall | 13 (93) | 8 (89) | 21 (91) | 8 (80) | ||
| Fibrosis (%) | 0.50 | 0.32 | ||||
| None | 1 (7) | 2 (22) | 3 (13) | 4 (40) | ||
| Interstitial | 7 (50) | 5 (56) | 12 (52) | 5 (50) | ||
| Replacement | 4 (29) | 1 (11) | 5 (22) | 1 (10) | ||
| Infarct scar | 2 (14) | 1 (11) | 3 (13) | 0 (0) | ||
| Overall | 13 (93) | 7 (78) | 20 (87) | 6 (60) | ||
| Ischaemic necrosis (%) | 0.20 | 0.70 | ||||
| Contraction band necroses | 3 (21) | 3 (33) | 6 (26) | 1 (10) | ||
| Infarction | 0 (0) | 1 (11) | 1 (4) | 1 (10) | ||
| Overall | 3 (21) | 4 (45) | 7 (30) | 2 (20) | ||
| Amyloidosis (%) | 0.19 | 0.45 | ||||
| 0% of tissue | 9 (64) | 8 (89) | 17 (74) | 9 (90) | ||
| 1–29% of tissue | 3 (21) | 1 (11) | 4 (17) | 1 (10) | ||
| ≥30% of tissue | 2 (14) | 0 (0) | 2 (9) | 0 (0) | ||
| Overall | 5 (36) | 1 (11) | 6 (26) | 1 (10) | ||
| Capillary dilatation (%) | 0.04 | 0.13 | ||||
| None | 0 (0) | 1 (11) | 1 (4) | 1 (10) | ||
| Mild | 5 (36) | 6 (67) | 11 (48) | 7 (70) | ||
| Marked | 9 (64) | 2 (22) | 11 (48) | 2 (20) | ||
| Overall | 14 (100) | 8 (89) | 22 (96) | 9 (90) | ||
| Microhaemorrhage (%) | 0.03 | 0.04 | ||||
| None | 5 (36) | 5 (56) | 10 (43) | 9 (10) | ||
| Focal | 6 (43) | 2 (22) | 8 (35) | 1 (10) | ||
| Extensive | 3 (21) | 2 (22) | 5 (22) | 0 (0) | ||
| Overall | 9 (64) | 4 (45) | 13 (57) | 1 (10) | ||
| Capillary fibrin (%) | 0.04 | 0.04 | ||||
| None | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 3 (30) | ||
| Focal | 8 (57) | 7 (78) | 15 (65) | 6 (60) | ||
| Extensive | 6 (64) | 2 (22) | 8 (35) | 1 (10) | ||
| Overall | 14 (100) | 9 (100) | 23 (100) | 7 (70) | ||
| Arteriolar fibrin (%) | 2 (14) | 3 (33) | 5 (22) | 1 (10) | 0.45 | 0.64 |
| Anisocytosis of intravascular erythrocytes (%) | 9 (64) | 5 (56) | 14 (61) | 9 (90) | 0.28 | 0.32 |
| Inflammation | ||||||
| Interstitial oedema (%) | 7 (50) | 8 (89) | 15 (65) | 6 (60) | 0.18 | 0.54 |
| Increased myocardial CD68‐positive cells | 3 (21) | 6 (67) | 9 (39) | 2 (20) | 0.06 | 0.26 |
| Cardioinflammation | ||||||
| Increased infiltrate without necrosis | 0 (0) | 4 (44) | 4 (17) | 1 (10) | 0.007 | 0.52 |
| Lymphohistiocytic myocarditis | 0 (0) | 1 (11) | 1 (4) | 0 (0) | 0.27 | 0.70 |
| Overall | 0 (0) | 5 (56) | 5 (22) | 1 (10) | 0.001 | 0.64 |
Values in bold indicate significant P values at the 0.05 level.
IQR, interquartile range.