Knowledge, Attitude and Perception Regarding the Procedure of Autopsy in COVID-19 Cases among Doctors Doing Post Mortem Examination

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised challenges in dealing with the dead body of deceases who have
been a suspected case or a confirmed case of Covid-19, considering the extreme shortage of trained and
experienced manpower in dealing with various duties and responsibilities in the COVID-19 scenario it is
very important to ensure safety of the health care workers.All the guidelines issued from time to time for
control of spread and treatment of Covid-19 are speculations depending on the current trends and none are
based on robust research due to lack of scientific literature and work as the Covid-19 virus in new to the
human race .The main driver of transmission of COVID-19is through droplets. There is unlikely to be an
increased risk of COVID-19 infection from a dead body to health workers or family members who follow
standard precautions while handling body. Only the lungs of dead COVID-19 patients, if handled during
an autopsy, can be infectious.1and there is no evidence so far of transmission of virus through the handling
of corpses.2There are a lot of speculations in the mind of forensic medicine experts regarding the ongoing
mortuary work and dead body management in the Covid-19 scenario considering the risk of acquiring the
infection during handing or bodies or while conducting a medico legal post mortem examination.