Table 1.
Summary of Studies That Used Minimally Invasive Tissue Sampling in COVID-19 Cases During Pandemics
| Study [Reference] | Country | No. of MITS Procedures | Period of Study | Mean Age (Range), Years | Imaging Guidance | Collected Tissue Samples | RT-PCR for COVID-19 in Tissue (Yes/No) | Other Test(s) for COVID-19 in Tissue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zhang et al [40] | China | 1 | Before March 2020 | 72 (N/A) | No | Lungs | No | IHC |
| 2 | Xu et al [41] | China | 1 | Before January 2020 | 50 (N/A) | No | Lungs, heart, liver | No | … |
| 3 | Tian et al [45] | China | 4 | Before April 2020 | 73 (59–81) | No | Lungs, heart, liver | Yes | … |
| 4 | Yao et al [48] | China | 3 | Before May 2020 | 70 (63–79) | No | Lung, heart, liver, kidney, spleen, bone marrow, pancreas, stomach, intestine, thyroid, and skin | Yes | IHC, EM |
| 5 | Wu et al [52] | China | 10 | Before June 2020 | 70 (39–87) | Yes (US) | Lungs | Yes | EM |
| 6 | Li et al [42] | China | 30a | February–March 2020 | 69 (39–91) | Yes (US) | Lungs | No | … |
| 7 | Duarte-Neto [49] | Brazil | 10 | March 2020 | 69 (33–83) | Yes (US) | Lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, spleen, brain, skin, skeletal muscle, and testis | Yes | … |
| 8 | Dolhnikoff et al [50] | Brazil | 1 | Before October 2020 | 11 (N/A) | Yes (US) | Lungs, heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, brain, inguinal lymph node, skeletal muscle, and skin | Yes | EM |
| 9 | D’Onofrio [51] | Belgium | 18 | April–May 2020 | 80 (72–84) | Yes (CT) | Lungs, heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, abdominal fat | Yes | … |
| 10 | Flikweer et al [55] | The Netherlands | 7 | March–April 2020 | 74 (58–83) | Yes (US and CT) | Lungs | No | … |
| 11 | Matuck et al [53] | Brazil | 7 | Before November 2020 | 47 (8–74) | Yes (videoscope) | Lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, spleen, brain, skin, skeletal muscle, testis, periodontal tissue | Yes | … |
| 12 | Bruce-Brand et al [56] | South Africa | 4 | June–July 2020 | 59 (58–65) | No | Lungs | No | EM |
| 13 | Roncati et al [43] | Italy | 3 | Before June 2020 | 53 (44–67) | No | Lungs | No | EM |
| 14 | Prieto-Pérez et al [54] | Spain | 33 | March–April 2020 | 79 (53–98) | No | Lungs, bone marrow | No | IHC |
| 15 | Yang et al [46] | China | 12 | Before May 2020 | 65 (23–75) | Yes (US in 4 cases) | Testes | No | No |
| 16 | Nucci et al [47] | Brazil | NR | Before August 2020 | NR | Yes (US) | Diaphragm and intercostal muscles | No | … |
| 17 | Mauaud et al [57] | Brazil | 41 | March–June 2020 | 55 (22–88) | Yes (US) | Lungs | No | … |
| 18 | Monteiro et al [58] | Brazil | 28 | Before January 2021 | 50 (0.6–83) | Yes (US) | Lungs | No | … |
| 19 | Brook et al [44] | USA | 5 | April–June 2020 | 77 (58–91) | Yes (US) | Lungs, liver, spleen, kidney, heart, testes, breast, skeletal muscle, abdominal fat | Yes | IHC, ISH sub-genomic mRNA assay |
| 20 | Beigmohammadi et al [59] | Iran | 7 | Before June 2020 | 67 (46–84) | Yes (US) | Lungs, heart, liver | No | … |
Abbreviations: COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; CT, computed tomography; IHC, immunohistochemistry; EM, electron microscopy; ISH, in-situ hybridization; MITS, minimally invasive tissue sampling; N/A, not applicable; NR, not reported; RT-PCR, reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction; US, ultrasound.
a10 out of 30 cases have been previously reported by Wu et al [52].