Incidence and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection in lung transplant recipients in the Omicron era
Neval Ete Wareham,
Sebastian Rask Hamm,
Regitze Hertz Liebermann,
Dina Leth Møller,
Laurids Brandt Laursen-Keldorff,
Andreas Runge Poulsen,
Thomas Kromann Lund,
Kristine Jensen,
Hans Henrik L. Schultz,
Michael Perch,
Susanne Dam Nielsen
Affiliations
Neval Ete Wareham
Department of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; Corresponding author: Neval Ete Wareham, Department of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Sebastian Rask Hamm
Department of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; Viro-immunology Research Unit, Department of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
Regitze Hertz Liebermann
Department of Cardiology, Section for Lung Transplantation, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
Dina Leth Møller
Department of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; Viro-immunology Research Unit, Department of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
Laurids Brandt Laursen-Keldorff
Department of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; Viro-immunology Research Unit, Department of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
Andreas Runge Poulsen
Department of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; Viro-immunology Research Unit, Department of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
Thomas Kromann Lund
Department of Cardiology, Section for Lung Transplantation, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
Kristine Jensen
Department of Cardiology, Section for Lung Transplantation, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
Hans Henrik L. Schultz
Department of Cardiology, Section for Lung Transplantation, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
Michael Perch
Department of Cardiology, Section for Lung Transplantation, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Susanne Dam Nielsen
Department of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark; Viro-immunology Research Unit, Department of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection may cause serious illness in lung transplant recipients. We aimed to investigate incidence and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection in lung transplant recipients in the Omicron era. We conducted a retrospective study investigating COVID-19 incidence and outcomes among lung transplant recipients between December 27, 2021, and October 31, 2022, in Denmark. We performed COX regression analysis of potential risk factors with hospitalization as an endpoint. Among 236 included patients, 108 had a first positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction during a total of 133 person-years of follow-up, resulting in an incidence rate of 813 per 1000 person-years (95% confidence intervals (CI) 670–977). The cumulative incidence of hospitalization was 24.1% (95% CI 26-32.1) and admission to the intensive care unit was 3.7% (95% CI 0.1–6.3). The 30-day mortality of recipients with a SARS-CoV-2 infection was 0.9% (95% CI 0–2.7). We found that the incidence rate of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection was markedly higher, whereas the mortality rate was lower in the omicron era compared to earlier reports for lung transplant recipients conducted in the delta era. On the other hand, a substantial proportion of patients were hospitalized, suggesting a continuous impact on this patient population.