Characteristics of COVID-19 Disease in Renal Transplant Recipients
Emilija Zimnickaitė,
Ieva Kucinaitė,
Birutė Zablockienė,
Aistė Lisinskaitė,
Rolandas Zablockis,
Laurynas Rimševičius,
Marius Miglinas,
Ligita Jančorienė
Affiliations
Emilija Zimnickaitė
Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, M. K. Ciurlionio 21, 03101 Vilnius, Lithuania
Ieva Kucinaitė
Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, M. K. Ciurlionio 21, 03101 Vilnius, Lithuania
Birutė Zablockienė
Clinic of Infectious Diseases and Dermatovenerology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, M. K. Ciurlionio 21, 03101 Vilnius, Lithuania
Aistė Lisinskaitė
Center of Infectious Diseases, Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos, Santariskiu Street 14, 08406 Vilnius, Lithuania
Rolandas Zablockis
Clinic of Chest Diseases, Immunology and Allergology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, M. K. Ciurlionio 21, 03101 Vilnius, Lithuania
Laurynas Rimševičius
Clinic of Gastroenterology, Nephrourology and Surgery, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, M. K. Ciurlionio 21, 03101 Vilnius, Lithuania
Marius Miglinas
Clinic of Gastroenterology, Nephrourology and Surgery, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, M. K. Ciurlionio 21, 03101 Vilnius, Lithuania
Ligita Jančorienė
Clinic of Infectious Diseases and Dermatovenerology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, M. K. Ciurlionio 21, 03101 Vilnius, Lithuania
Background and Objectives: Kidney transplant recipients are at risk of developing more severe forms of COVID-19 infection. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical course of COVID-19 infection among kidney transplant patients and a control group. Materials and Methods: We examined 150 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infection. Patients were divided into study (kidney transplant recipients, n = 53) and control (without a history of kidney transplantation, n = 97) groups. Demographics, clinical characteristics, treatment data, and clinical outcomes were assessed. Results: The median patient age was 56.0 (46.0–64.0) years, and seventy-seven patients (51.3%) were men. The median Charlson comorbidity index was higher in the study group (3.0 vs. 2.0, p p = 0.001) and a higher NEWS index median (2.0 vs. 1.0 points, p = 0.009) and incidence of pneumonia during hospitalization (88.7% vs. 73.6%, p = 0.023). In the study group, there were more cases of mild (26.4% vs. 11.3%, p = 0.023) and critically severe forms of COVID-19 infection (26.4% vs. 3.1%, p p p p p = 0.011). Conclusions: The course of the COVID-19 disease in kidney transplant recipients is heterogeneous and can be more severe than in the general population. Even though patients may be hospitalized with fewer symptoms, complications and death are more likely to occur.
