Remdesivir in Renal Transplant Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019

Abstract

Introduction: Remdesivir has shown broad-spectrum antiviral activity. This drug is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) management. Other than a few case series and case reports, not much information is available on its use in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). Materials and Methods: We describe our experience of seven KTRs with COVID-19. All the patients were hypoxemic. High-resolution computed tomography (CT) chest was done in all the patients. Injection remdesivir 200 mg on day 1 followed by 100 mg daily was given for a maximum of 5 days irrespective of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Observations and Results: Mean age of patients was 46.28 ± 10.41 years and one patient was female. Mean CT severity score was 15. In our study, 2 patients who required mechanical ventilation expired. None of our patient had worsening of acute kidney injury (AKI) or new-onset AKI after institution of remdesivir. Discussion: Optimal management for this patient population remains unknown, therefore, treatment of COVID-19 in KTRs varies from center to center. The studies on remdesivir use in KTRs with COVID-19 are not extensive. Our series does indicate safety of remdesivir in KTRs. Conclusion: We observed that remdesivir can be used in KTRs with COVID-19 with hypoxemia irrespective of eGFR. We suggest that large-scale studies should be done to substantiate these findings.