Patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) who contract the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have a high mortality rate, according to findings from an early case series published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
Syed Ali Husain, MD, MPH, and colleagues from Columbia University in New York studied the presentation and outcomes among 59 patients on dialysis (57 on hemodialysis and 2 on peritoneal dialysis) admitted to their medical center with COVID-19 during March 9, 2020 to April 8, 2020. Patients had a median age of 63 years, 56% were male, and 75% were Hispanic. Most patients had other comorbidities associated with COVID-19 risk. All but 1 patient had hypertension, 69% had diabetes, 46% had coronary artery disease, 54% were overweight or obese, 17% had pulmonary disease, and 32% were current or former smokers. Five patients had a previous kidney transplant, but none were currently receiving chronic immunosuppressive therapies.
The most common presenting symptoms of COVID-19 were similar to those observed in the general population: fever (49%), cough (39%), dyspnea (36%), and fatigue/malaise (22%). Fewer patients reported gastrointestinal symptoms (15%), chills (10%), myalgia (7%), or altered mental status (8%). Initial radiographs showed multifocal or bilateral opacities in 59%, unilateral opacities in 10%, and no acute findings in 19%.
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Eight patients received mechanical ventilation at a median 1.5 days from admission, 40 had no ventilation, and 11 had a “do not intubate” advanced directive.
Of the 59 patients, 18 (30.5%) died at a median 6 days after hospitalization, including 3 out of 4 mechanically ventilated patients and all 11 patients with a “do not intubate” order. Patients who died were significantly older than survivors (median age 75 vs 62 years), had a higher median Charlson comorbidity index (8 vs 7), and presented with higher white blood cell counts (median 7.5 vs 5.73 x 1000/µL) and C-reactive protein levels (median 163 vs 80.3 mg/L), the investigators reported. They acknowledged that much more data are needed before recommendations can be made.
“In conclusion, hospitalized patients with ESKD and COVID-19 displayed high mortality, although many who died had advanced directives against intubation,” Dr Hussain’s team stated. “This study reinforces the need to consider the ESKD population as a high-risk, highly vulnerable population and the need to take appropriate infection control measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in this group.”
Reference
Valeri AM, Robbins-Juarez SY, Stevens JS, et al. Presentation and outcomes of patients with ESKD and COVID-19 [published online May 28, 2020]. J Am Soc Nephrol. doi: 10.1681/ASN.2020040470
