Clinical features of hemodialysis patients with COVID-19: a single-center retrospective study on 32 patients

Abstract

Objective We retrospectively analyzed the data of 32 hemodialysis patients with COVID-19 to clarify the epidemiological characteristics of this special population. Method The data of 32 hemodialysis patients with COVID-19, including epidemiological, demographic, clinical, laboratory, and radiological, were collected from the Blood Purification Department of Wuhan Fourth Hospital from February 3 to 16, 2020. Results Of the 32 patients, 23 were male, and the median age was 58 years; the median dialysis vintage was 33 months. Two groups were divided according to the patient's primary renal disease: group 1 (16 patients with diabetic nephropathy), group 2 (12 patients with primary glomerulonephritis, 2 with obstructive kidney disease, 1 with hypertensive renal damage, and 1 with polycystic kidney). No significant differences were observed between the two groups in epidemiological characteristics, blood cell counts, and radiological performance. Hemodialysis patients are susceptible to COVID-19 at all ages, and patients with diabetes may be a high-risk population (50%). Common symptoms included fever (15 cases), cough (21 cases), and fatigue (7 cases). The blood lymphocyte count decreased in 84.6% of the patients (median: 0.765 × 10 9 /L). Chest CT revealed ground-glass-like lesions in 18 cases, unilateral lung patchiness in 7 cases, bilateral lung patchiness in 7 cases, and pleural effusion in 2 cases. Conclusion Only 46.875% of the hemodialysis patients with COVID-19 had fever in the early stage; and diabetics may be the most susceptible population. A decrease in blood lymphocyte count and ground-glass opacity on chest CT scan is beneficial in identifying the high-risk population.

COVID-19 infected patients in a Hemodialysis facility in Ecuador, 2020.

“…We observed that more men than women get infected, consistent with some authors who have reported 17,18 .…”

Impact of renal disease and comorbidities on mortality in hemodialysis patients with COVID-19: a multicenter experience from Germany

“…There is an increasing number of reports on the clinical course of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in hemodialysis patients [1][2][3][4].…”

Evaluation of COVID-19 Thorax Computed Tomography Findings in Hemodialysis Patients

“…In the study by Wang et al (14), bilateral diffuse consolidation or groundglass appearances were observed in all 7 HD patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19, and death was reported in 3 of the patients. In the study of Du et al (11) with 32 COVID-19 positive HD patients, ground-glass opacities were observed in 18 cases; unilateral consolidations were observed in 7 patients, bilateral consolidations were observed in 7 patients; and pleural effusion was observed in 2 patients. In the study by Wang et al (13) involving 5 patients, ground-glass opacities were observed in all patients, and it was reported that no severe complications or death occurred in any patient.…”