SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 INFECTION IN TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS AND IN PATIENTS ON THE ORGAN TRANSPLANT WAITING LIST IN COLOMBIA

Arias-Murillo, Yazmin R.; Benavides-V., Carlos A.; Salinas-N, María A.; Osorio-Arango, Karime; Plazas-Sierra, Carolina; Cortés, Jorge A.

In an effort to assess our determination to continue transplant activity in Colombia during the Covid-19/pandemic, this study seeks to describe the risk of infection and mortality of transplanted patients versus those on waiting list. Therefore, a descriptive study of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 infection in transplant recipients and patients on waiting list was conducted. The data sources were the information systems of the Instituto Nacional de Salud of Colombia: National Donation and Transplant Information System, the National Public Health Surveillance System and the National COVID-19 Data Repository. Characteristics of the patients who tested positive were analyzed and the mortality rate was determined. An RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 was performed in 7% of the transplant recipients included in this study, and 14.8% of them tested positive. Among patients on the waiting list, 15.2% were tested and 16.7% showed positive results. Overall, 1% (84/8,108) of the transplant recipients and 2.5% (74/2,926) of patients on waiting list were infected with SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19. There were no differences in mortality between these groups (p=0.8748). In conclusion, with the data obtained so far, the hospital availability, and the adoption of safety protocols in the institutions, our findings can support the continuity of the transplant activities in this country.