Hospitalizations for non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory infectious diseases among patients on hemodialysis: A comparison before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Abstract

The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection control on other infections in patients with dialysis has not received sufficient consideration. We compared hospitalization and mortality rates among patients who underwent hemodialysis (HD) at three dialysis centers before (March 2018-February 2020) and during (March 2020-February 2022) the COVID-19 pandemic. This study included 1696 patients undergoing HD (mean age, 70 years; 1099 men). Compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic, the emergency hospitalization rate (per 100 dialysis patient-years) for non-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) respiratory infectious diseases (IDs) (7.0 vs. 4.1, p < 0.001) significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas the hospitalization rates for other IDs were comparable. The mortality rates for non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory IDs were comparable before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitalizations for non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory IDs among patients undergoing HD may have decreased owing to the implementation of infection control measures for COVID-19.