Kidney impairment is associated with in-hospital death of COVID-19 patients

Abstract

Background: Information on kidney impairment in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 is limited. This study aims to assess the prevalence and impact of abnormal urine analysis and kidney dysfunction in hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Wuhan. Methods:We conducted a consecutive cohort study of COVID-19 patients admitted in a tertiary teaching hospital with 3 branches following a major outbreak in Wuhan in 2020. Hematuria, proteinuria, serum creatinine concentration and other clinical parameters were extracted from the electronic hospitalization databases and laboratory databases. Incidence rate for acute kidney injury (AKI) was examined during the study period. Association between kidney impairment and in-hospital death was analyzed. Results:We included 710 consecutive COVID-19 patients, 89 (12.3%) of whom died in hospital. The median age of the patients was 63 years (inter quartile range, 51-71), including 374 men and 336 women. On admission, 44% of patients have proteinuria hematuria and 26.9% have hematuria, and the prevalence of elevated serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen were 15.5% and 14.1% respectively. During the study period, AKI occurred in 3.2% patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that patients with kidney impairment have higher risk for in-hospital death. Cox proportional hazard regression confirmed that elevated serum creatinine, elevated urea nitrogen, AKI, proteinuria and hematuria was an independent risk factor for in-hospital death after adjusting for age, sex, disease severity, leukocyte count and lymphocyte count. : medRxiv preprint Conclusions: The prevalence of kidney impairment (hematuria, proteinuria and kidney dysfunction) in hospitalized COVID-19 patients was high. After adjustment for confounders, kidney impairment indicators were associated with higher risk of inhospital death. Clinicians should increase their awareness of kidney impairment in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Wu, M.; Guo, J.; Yao, J.; Liao, X.; Song, S.; Han, M.; Li, J.; Duan, G.; Zhou, Y.; Wu, X.; Zhou, Z.; Wang, T.; Hu, M.; Chen, X.; Fu, Y.; Lei, C.; Dong, H.; Zhou, Y.; Jia, H.; Chen, X.; Yan, J., Caution on Kidney Dysfunctions of 2019-nCoV Patients. 2020 23. Kumar, A.; Zarychanski, R.; Pinto, R.; Cook, D. J.; Marshall, J.; Lacroix, J.; Stelfox, T.; Bagshaw, S.; Choong, K.; Lamontagne, F.; Turgeon, A. F.; Lapinsky, S.; Ahern, S. P.; Smith, O.; Siddiqui, F.; Jouvet, P.; Khwaja, K.; McIntyre, L.; Menon, K.; Hutchison, J.; Hornstein, D.; Joffe, A.; Lauzier, F.; Singh, J.; Karachi, T.; Wiebe, K.; Olafson, K.; Ramsey, C.; Sharma, S.; Dodek, P.; Meade, M.; Hall, R.; Fowler, R. A.; Canadian Critical Care Trials Group, H. N. C., Critically ill patients with 2009 influenza A(H1N1) infection in Canada.

Human Kidney is a Target for Novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Infection

“…In this study, we found that 27.06% of patients with COVID-9 had abnormal eGFR, and patients who are aged or have comorbidities more commonly developed ARF ( had an elevated level of proteinuria. 13 Collectively, these results illustrate that SARS-CoV-2 mediated ARF may be one of the major causes of multiorgan failure and eventual death in COVID-19 patients.…”

“…10 In addition to respiratory organs, the expression of ACE2 protein has also been observed in human kidneys, 11,12 and Cheng et al, reported that some COVID-19 patients had an elevated level of proteinuria. 13 However, no evidence directly demonstrates that SARS-CoV-2 can infect the kidney to cause acute renal failure.…”

The Novel Coronavirus 2019 epidemic and kidneys

“…The prevalence of elevated Scr and BUN were 15.5% and 14.1% respectively. AKI was an independent risk factor for patients' in-hospital mortality 13,14 .…”

“…In previous reports of SARS and MERS-CoV infections, acute kidney injury (AKI) developed in 5-15% cases and carried a high (60-90%) mortality. Early reports suggested a lower incidence (3-9%) of AKI in those with COVID-19 infection 1,[11][12][13] . Recent reports, however, have shown higher frequency of renal abnormalities.…”

“…CT scan of the kidneys showed reduced density, suggestive of inflammation and edema. Cheng et al 13 recently reported that amongst 710 consecutive hospitalized patients with COVID-19, 44% had proteinuria and hematuria and 26.7% had hematuria on admission. The prevalence of elevated Scr and BUN were 15.5% and 14.1% respectively.…”