Novel therapeutic approaches for COVID-19 in chronic kidney disease and transplant.

Ferrey, Antoney J; Hanna, Ramy; Reddy, Uttam G; Tantisattamo, Ekamol; Kalantar-Zadeh, Kamyar; Amin, Alpesh N

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the novel virus responsible for the current worldwide pandemic. The scientific and healthcare communities have made every effort to discover and implement treatment options at a historic pace. Patients with kidney disease are uniquely vulnerable to an infectious pandemic because of their need to be in frequent contact with the healthcare system for life-sustaining renal replacement therapy whether it be by dialysis or transplant. RECENT FINDINGS The use of targeted viral therapies, extracorporeal therapies, immunosuppressive therapy and public health interventions are important in the management of patients with COVID-19 but require special consideration in patients with kidney disease because of the complexity of their condition. SUMMARY Here, we discuss some of the major efforts made to prevent spread and emerging treatment options for this virus, as they pertain to patients with kidney disease.