COVID-19 Infection in Kidney Transplant Patients: An Italian One Year Single Centre Experience

Abstract

COVID-19 is a life-threatening infection among elderly patients, comorbid patients, or transplanted patients. Lombardy (region of Italy), accounts for 786,324 cases as of 21 April 2021. We retrospectively describe our single Centre experience in 82 adult kidney-transplant patients with COVID-19 infection during two pandemic outbreaks: 27 (first outbreak) and 65 (second outbreak). Thirty-seven patients were hospitalized (HP) and sixty-five were home managed (HM). Infection presented with fever (80%), cough (51%), and dyspnea (33%). HP were older (60 ± 11 vs. 50 ± 14 years, p = 0.001), had more severe respiratory symptoms (dyspnea 62.1%, p < 0.0001–cough 67% p = 0.008), and a longer length of disease (30 ± 28 vs. 21 ± 10, p = 0.04). The incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) was 29.7% (p < 0.0001). Steroid dosage was increased in 66% of patients (p = 0.0003), while calcineurin inhibitors were reduced by up to one third in 45% of cases, p < 0.0001. Eleven patients died (13%). HM patients recovered completely without sequelae. In the overall cohort, AKI development (p = 0.006 OR 50.4 CI 95% 3.0–836) and age (p = 0.04 OR 1.1 CI 95% 1.0–1.2) were the most important factors influencing the probability of death during the infection. Although we report a relatively low incidence of infection (5.1%) the incidence of death is almost four times higher than it is in the general population.