IN RESPONSE:
Dr. Nichols raises potential concerns about the nature of the thrombotic material found in the lungs of patients with COVID-19 who have died and its possible therapeutic implications. In our study, we critically distinguished among thrombi, thromboemboli, and postmortem clots. We believe that the observed inflammatory reaction and infarcts clearly indicate that the thrombotic material arose before death. Neutrophil infiltrates in both vessel walls and thrombi (Figure 3, panels A, B, and D) occur only in vivo and clearly speak against postmortem clots.
The vessels occluded by thrombosis were found adjacent to or within areas of infarction (Figure ...
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Author, Article, and Disclosure Information
Hospital Graz II, Academic Teaching Hospital of the Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria, and Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria
Hospital Graz II, Academic Teaching Hospital of the Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M20-2566.
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