Long-term renal recovery is common in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 complicated by acute kidney injury (AKI) requiring kidney replacement therapy (KRT), according to study findings published recently in Kidney International.
“This information may be of value for patients with COVID-19 and their clinicians when it comes to deciding about the initiation or continuation of KRT,” Kai M. Schmidt-Ott, MD, and Phillipp Enghard, MD, of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany, and colleagues reported.
In a retrospective analysis of renal outcomes among 74 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and receiving KRT for AKI from March to June 2020, the investigators found on October 21, 2020 that 36 patients (48.6%) had died during hospitalization after a median follow-up of 151 days after initiating KRT. Another 37 patients (50%) were discharged, and 1 was still hospitalized.
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Among the discharged patients, median overall duration of KRT was 27 days. At the end of follow-up, 3 patients (8.1%) remained dependent on KRT and the remaining 34 patients (91.9%) had achieved variable degrees of renal recovery, including 23 patients (62.2%) with full renal recovery, according to the investigators.
The study population was 74.3% male. Patients had a median age of 65 years and their median baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate was 76.5 mL/min/1.73 m2. All patients received treatment in intensive care units at the time of AKI-KRT onset. Mechanical ventilation was required for 98.6% of patients. Corticosteroids, used in 68% of cases, were the most common treatments.
Reference
Stockmann H, Hardenberg JHB, Aigner A, et al. High rates of long-term renal recovery in survivors of COVID-19-associated acute kidney injury requiring kidney replacement therapy. Published online January 26, 2021. Kidney Int. doi:10.1016/j.kint.2021.01.005
