COVID-19: a novel menace for the practice of nephrology and how to manage it with minor devastation?

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) became a nightmare for the world since December 2019. Although the disease affects people at any age; elderly patients and those with comorbidities were more affected. Everyday nephrologists see patients with hypertension, chronic kidney disease, maintenance dialysis treatment or kidney transplant who are also high-risk groups for the COVID-19. Beyond that, COVID-19 or severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) due to infection may directly affect kidney functions. This broad spectrum of COVID-19 influence on kidney patients and kidney functions obviously necessitate an up to date management policy for nephrological care. This review overviews and purifies recently published literature in a question to answer format for the practicing nephrologists that will often encounter COVID-19 and kidney related cases during the pandemic times.

Keywords

• covid-19
• hypertension
• acute kidney injury
• hemodialysis
• renal transplantation
• glomerulonephritis