Autopsy technicians are often exposed to several communicable illnesses due to their proximity to humans and bodily fluids at work. As a result of the pandemic, they are even more vulnerable to diseases every time they attend to patients. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has put together a document regarding the safety protocol for autopsy technicians following the pandemic.
Firstly, the CDC postmortem guide requires all autopsy technicians to inform their local or state health departments when they administer examinations on deceased patients with COVID-19. Instead of a full autopsy, the CDC advises technicians to use their professional appraisal by testing for signs of respiratory illness to determine whether the patient contracted the disease and reduce the risk of an infectious spread.
CDC also recommends biosafety and infection control practices. Autopsy technicians must conduct nasal swabs following the standard protocol, including maintaining hand hygiene and wearing personal protective equipment (PPE). They aim to protect medical personnel from infectious diseases due to contact with an infected person's bodily fluids. According to the CDC, a technician's personal protective equipment (PPE) must contain soft and nonsterile latex gloves, heavy-duty rubber gloves, face masks, fluid-resistant gowns with long sleeves, and goggles.
There are existing guidelines for safe work practices in human and animal laboratories, which the CDC agrees with. Any personnel entering the autopsy room must wear the appropriate PPE recommended above. Only the minimum number of technicians and medical attendants should be in the autopsy room at a given time.
The existing guidelines also state that virology laboratories should not have any gas tanks within the facility. The laboratories should also have enough space for technicians to work and a system for waste disposal. At least a biosafety cabinet Class II should inspect sensitive and other containment specimens.
All staff, workers, and visitors to the morgue must record their names and other information in the logbook in case there is a need for future contact. The autopsy room, equipment, and surfaces must also be cleaned and disinfected when necessary.
For postmortem specimens, the CDC advises storing specimens between two to eight degrees upon specimen collection. Personnel must be adequately trained to handle, package, and transport the specimens. When handling the specimens, they must place them into a primary container before placing them in another secondary, leakproof container and finally sealing them in a resealable plastic bag.
The technician should label a biological specimen bag with absorbent material, then place the resealable plastic bag inside the specimen bag so it can be transported. Any personnel collecting and moving specimens for transportation must give them to a laboratory attendant for proper storage.
If the technicians at a public health clinic or laboratory take a postmortem nasal swab with the aim of testing for infection from the pandemic but do not have the required equipment, they can send the swab to the CDC, which will test for infections. Clinics and hospitals must also place a notice on their buildings to patients exhibiting symptoms of COVID or who have come in contact with someone else with the illness. The notice should include the follow-up action the individual can take to receive treatment.
