High mortality among kidney transplant recipients diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019: Results from the Brazilian multicenter cohort study

Abstract

Background Kidney transplant (KT) recipients are considered a high-risk group for unfavorable outcomes in the course of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Aim To describe the clinical aspects and outcomes of COVID-19 among KT recipients. Methods This multicenter cohort study enrolled 1,680 KT recipients diagnosed with COVID-19 between March and November 2020, from 35 Brazilian centers. The main outcome was the 90-day cumulative incidence of death, for the entire cohort and according to acute kidney injury (AKI) and renal replacement therapy (RRT) requirement. Fatality rates were analyzed according to hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and mechanical ventilation (MV) requirement. Multivariable analysis was performed by logistic regression for the probability of hospitalization and death. Results The median age of the recipients was 51.3 years, 60.4% were men and 11.4% were Afro-Brazilian. Comorbidities were reported in 1,489 (88.6%), and the interval between transplantation and infection was 5.9 years. The most frequent symptoms were cough (54%), myalgia (40%), dyspnea (37%), and diarrhea (31%), whereas the clinical signs were fever (61%) and hypoxemia (13%). Hospitalization was required in 65.1%, and immunosuppressive drugs adjustments were made in 74.4% of in-hospital patients. ICU admission was required in 34.6% and MV in 24.9%. In the multivariable modeling, the variables related with the probability of hospitalization were age, hypertension, previous cardiovascular disease, recent use of high dose of steroid, and fever, dyspnea, diarrhea, and nausea or vomiting as COVID-19 symptoms. On the other hand, the variables that reduced the probability of hospitalization were time of COVID-19 symptoms, and nasal congestion, headache, arthralgia and anosmia as COVID-19 symptoms. The overall 90-day cumulative incidence of death was 21.0%. The fatality rates were 31.6%, 58.2%, and 75.5% in those who were hospitalized, admitted to the ICU, and required MV, respectively. At the time of infection, 23.2% had AKI and 23.4% required RRT in the follow-up. The cumulative incidence of death was significantly higher among recipients with AKI (36.0% vs. 19.1%, P < 0.0001) and in those who required RRT (70.8% vs. 10.1%, P < 0.0001). The variables related with the probability of death within 90 days after COVID-19 were age, time after transplantation, presence of hypertension, previous cardiovascular disease, use of tacrolimus and mycophenolate, recent use of high dose of steroids, and dyspnea as COVID-19 symptom. On the other hand, the variables that reduced the risk of death were time of symptoms, and headache and anosmia as COVID-19 symptoms. Conclusion The patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were long-term KT recipients and most of them had some comorbidities. One in every five patients died, and the rate of death was significantly higher in those with AKI, mainly when RRT was required.

The clinical course of hospitalized moderately ill COVID-19 patients is mirrored by routine hematologic tests and influenced by renal transplantation

“…Our finding of 40% fatality is in accordance with previous studies that reported mortality ranging from 19% to 50%, although it is important to remark that most of these other studies also included outpatient cases, while our analysis was restricted to hospitalized patients [ 24 – 26 ]. Similar to what we observed in our analysis, in a recent multicenter national study cohort conducted in our country, Requião-Moura et al evaluated 1,680 KT recipients diagnosed with COVID-19, of whom 65.1% required hospitalization, and the fatality rate of in-hospital patients was 31.6% [ 27 ]. The reasons why kidney transplant recipients have presented unfavorable outcomes compared to non-transplanted patients are under investigation.…”

Mortality risk factors of COVID-19 infection in kidney transplantation recipients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohorts and clinical registries

“…A total 1,137 studies were retrieved using our search criteria. After duplicate citations and irrelevant studies were excluded, 268 articles underwent full-text review, and 13 articles were included in the final meta-analysis 24 – 36 . Details of each study are displayed in Table 1 .…”

“…Ten of 13 studies presented adjusted (multivariable) models for factors associated with mortality (Table 5 ) 24 – 26 , 29 , 31 – 36 . Statistical methods to analyze multivariable model were different between studies including logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard regression.…”

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“…Our finding of 40% fatality is in accordance with previous studies that reported mortality ranging from 19% to 50%, although it is important to remark that most of these other studies also included outpatient cases, while our analysis was restricted to hospitalized patients [24][25][26]. Similar to what we observed in our analysis, in a recent multicenter national study cohort conducted in our country, Requião-Moura et al evaluated 1,680 KT recipients diagnosed with COVID-19, of whom 65.1% required hospitalization, and the fatality rate of in-hospital patients was 31.6% [27]. The reasons why kidney transplant recipients have presented unfavorable outcomes compared to non-transplanted patients are under investigation.…”