#5960 MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY OF SARS-COV-2 POSITIVE HOSPITALISED HEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS IN CASE OF CENTRALIZED ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE IN HEALTHCARE

Abstract

Abstract Background and Aims During the COVID epidemic, hemodialysis patients were a very serious vulnerable group due to the underlying kidney disease, many other comorbid health problems commonly present, the need for regular hospital visits even during the lockdown, and the high risk of staying with other patients in hemodialysis rooms, getting infected and subsequently high mortality. There are about 1000 patients with chronic hemodialysis in Armenia. All SARS-CoV-2 positive hemodialysis patients, regardless of the severity of the infection, were hospitalized in the largest multidisciplinary hospital center in the country, as it was the only dedicated hemodialysis service for SARS-CoV-2 positive cases in the country during the pandemic. Method Our prospective, observational study included about 1040 patients (Included re-infection) infected with the new coronavirus and hospitalized in one center between 01/04/2020 and 01/05/2022. Results The number of SARS-CoV-2 positive deaths was 183, which was 17.5% of those hospitalized. The number of re-infections was around 15%. A low level of vaccination of hemodialysis patients was recorded in the country, around 13,4%. During the first 6 months post-hospitalization, another 39 deaths were registered, which is 3.75% of those hospitalized. About 25,000 SARS-CoV-2 positive non-hemodialysis patients were hospitalized in the above period, and mortality in this population did not exceed 9% during peak epidemic and periods of maximum mortality. Conclusion Even with a centralized health care system, early hospitalization, close monitoring, and urgent access to multidisciplinary care, SARS-CoV-2 positive hemodialysis patients have a high mortality rate, the risk of which persists in the first 6 months of the post-hospital period and perhaps even longer, and this risk correlates also with low vaccination rates in this patients’ population.