COVID-19 in Hemodialysis Patients: A Report of 5 Cases

Abstract

, an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) began in China and spread rapidly worldwide. It is unknown whether hemodialysis patients represent a distinct group of patients with certain characteristics that may make them susceptible to infection or severe disease. In this case report, we describe the clinical and epidemiologic features of COVID-19 infection in 201 maintenance hemodialysis patients in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, including 5 maintenance hemodialysis patients who contracted COVID-19 infection. Of the 5 patients with COVID-19 infection, one had a definite history of contact with an infected person. The age range of the patients was 47 to 67 years. Diarrhea (80%), fever (60%), and fatigue (60%) were the most common symptoms. Lymphopenia occurred in all patients. Computed tomography of the chest showed ground glass opacity in the lungs of all patients. Up to February 13, 2020, none of the patients had developed severe complications (acute respiratory distress syndrome, shock, or multiple organ dysfunction) or died. Complete author and article information provided before references.

COVID-19 in Grade 4–5 Chronic Kidney Disease Patients

“…Chest x-ray findings showed pneumonia in 6 cases, with bilateral lung involvement in 5 of them, in agreement with many other studies [2,7,8]. Interestingly, as previously noted in hemodialysis patients in a short series [9], 2 patients did not present respiratory symptoms but showed a gastrointestinal pattern, with nausea and diarrhea as the presenting features. These patients showed a favorable evolution.…”

The possibility of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in a haemodialysis unit – report from a large in-hospital centre

“…Nevertheless, after the isolation of positive patients, no new cases were reported in Lombardy after a week or so [2]. More in line with our observations, another centre in Lombardy [2] and one in Wuhan [8] reported a much smaller number of infected patients (approximately 2-3%) and no in-centre spread, while data from a paediatric centre suggest some transmission occurred between patients within the unit [9]. Therefore, transmission occurring as a result of contact during in-centre dialysis, at least with asymptomatic or oligosymptomatic patients, seems unlikely given an appropriate distance between dialysis stations, in particular if surgical masks are used by both patients and personnel.…”

Long‐term effects of COVID‐19 in a patient on maintenance dialysis

“…1 There is little information about the outcome of patients with chronic kidney disease. [2][3][4][5][6][7] Patients on renal replacement therapy are the most vulnerable for SARS-CoV-2 infection, as they are old and have a high burden of multiple comorbidities. We report clinical manifestation and outcome of COVID-19 in a patient on maintenance dialysis with long-term infection due to recurrent polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positivity and recrudescence of COVID-19 after clinical and laboratory resolution of the disease.…”