Outcomes of COVID-19 in hospitalized kidney and liver transplant recipients- a single-center experience.

Åšlusarczyk, Aleksander; Tracz, Adam; Gronkiewicz, Magdalena; Jureczko, Lidia; BÄ…czkowska, Teresa

Introduction Solid organ transplant recipients seem to be more susceptible to severe COVID-19. Objectives Our study aimed to assess the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 in the kidney (KTR) and liver transplant recipients (LTR). Patients and methods In this single-center study, medical records of kidney and liver transplant recipients with PCR-confirmed COVID-19, admitted to the hospital between 9th of November 2020 and 26th of February 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. Results Overall, forty-one patients, including thirty-two kidney transplant (78%), one kidney-pancreas (2.4%) and eight liver transplant recipients (19.5%) were included. Seven patients (17%) experienced COVID-19 in the first month after transplantation. Among KTRs 72% were male and the median patient's age was 54 years (IQR 47-62). During a median of 12 days (IQR 8-18) of hospital stay, 72.7% of KTRs experienced acute kidney injury, 45.5% developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and 30.3% died. Baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate, a respiratory rate on admission and diabetes mellitus constituted independent risk factors for in-hospital mortality in KTRs. LTRs experienced a relatively mild COVID-19, only two patients (25%) required oxygen supplementation and one patient (12.5%) died from severe ARDS. Conclusion In sum, hospitalized kidney transplant recipients with COVID-19 are at high risk of acute kidney injury, ARDS and death.