Abstract
Introduction: Patients diagnosed with end-stage chronic kidney disease on a hemodialysis program (HDP) represent a risk group for COVID-19. Scientific societies have developed guidelines for the prevention of contagion, but there is no prophylactic medicine in them. Objectives: To describe the safety and efficacy of recombinant intranasal human Interferon alfa 2b as prophylaxis for COVID-19 in patients in an HDP. Patients and Methods: Intervention description through the monitoring of 15 patients in outpatient HDP. Prior to the administration of the drug, clinical, radiological evaluation and hematology and blood chemistry studies were performed. Daily contact was made with each study patient in person or by telephone, asking about the occurrence of adverse events or symptoms of disease. Results: In 47% of the patients, there was leukopenia, lymphopenia in 67% and anemia and thrombocytopenia in 33% respectively, prior to the use of the drug. There was no clinical suspicion of COVID-19 in any of them. Adverse events occurred in 3 patients (20%), all were mild and non-severe. All patients were negative for SARS-CoV-2 real-time polymerase chain reaction (rtPCR) and antibody studies 45 days after the study started. Conclusion: the use of intranasal recombinant human interferon alfa 2b as prophylaxis of COVID-19 in patients in a HDP at a dose of 1 MIU daily for ten days, as part of a prevention protocol, has an adequate safety profile. None of the patients in the series was infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the surveillance period.
Highlights
Patients diagnosed with end-stage chronic kidney disease on a hemodialysis program (HDP) represent a risk group for COVID-19
The finding of lymphopenia is frequent in the study patients, similar to that reported by other authors as characteristics of patients in HDP [3]
The baseline characteristics of the patients on HDP, including those that make up the present investigation, complicates the diagnostic suspicion of COVID-19, given that among the prognostic factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection are lymphopenia, elevation of D-Dimer and presence of inflammatory [eg. ferritin, LDH] [15,16]
Summary
Patients diagnosed with end-stage chronic kidney disease on a hemodialysis program (HDP) represent a risk group for COVID-19. Conclusion: the use of intranasal recombinant human interferon alfa 2b as prophylaxis of COVID-19 in patients in a HDP at a dose of 1 MIU daily for ten days, as part of a prevention protocol, has an adequate safety profile. The disease which is caused by the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus named COVID-19 has risk factors for infection and poor evolution, consist of old age and the presence of comorbidities such as high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease and end-stage chronic kidney disease [1]. Patients diagnosed with end-stage chronic kidney disease on hemodialysis program (HDP) represent a particular risk group. The behavior of social isolation cannot be Received: 8 August 2020, Accepted: 12 September 2020, ePublished: 29 September 2020
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