Pragmatic Recommendations for the Prevention and Treatment of Acute Kidney Injury in Patients with COVID-19 in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Association of Country Income Level With the Characteristics and Outcomes of Critically Ill Patients Hospitalized With Acute Kidney Injury and COVID-19

Introduction

Acute kidney injury (AKI) has been identified as one of the most common and significant problems in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. However, studies examining the relationship between COVID-19 and AKI in low- and low-middle income countries (LLMIC) are lacking. Given that AKI is known to carry a higher mortality rate in these countries, it is important to understand differences in this population.

Methods

This prospective, observational study examines the AKI incidence and characteristics of 32,210 patients with COVID-19 from 49 countries across all income levels who were admitted to an intensive care unit during their hospital stay.

Results

Among patients with COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care unit, AKI incidence was highest in patients in LLMIC, followed by patients in upper-middle income countries (UMIC) and high-income countries (HIC) (53%, 38%, and 30%, respectively), whereas dialysis rates were lowest among patients with AKI from LLMIC and highest among those from HIC (27% vs. 45%). Patients with AKI in LLMIC had the largest proportion of community-acquired AKI (CA-AKI) and highest rate of in-hospital death (79% vs. 54% in HIC and 66% in UMIC). The association between AKI, being from LLMIC and in-hospital death persisted even after adjusting for disease severity.

Conclusions

AKI is a particularly devastating complication of COVID-19 among patients from poorer nations where the gaps in accessibility and quality of healthcare delivery have a major impact on patient outcomes.

Acute kidney injury among hospitalised patients who died due to COVID-19 in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

BACKGROUND

Acute kidney injury (AKI) commonly occurs in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients who have been hospitalised and is associated with a poor prognosis. This study aimed to determine the incidence of AKI among COVID-19 patients who died in a regional hospital in South Africa.

METHODS

This retrospective record review was conducted at the Mthatha Regional Hospital in South Africa's Eastern Cape province. Data were collected between 10 July 2020 and 31 January 2021.

RESULTS

The incidence of AKI was 38% among the hospitalised patients who died due to COVID-19. Most study participants were female, with a mean age of 63.3 ± 16 years. The most common symptom of COVID-19 at the time of hospitalisation was shortness of breath, followed by fever and cough. Half of the patients had hypertension, while diabetes, human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) and tuberculosis (TB) were other comorbidities. At admission, the average oxygen saturation was 75.5% ± 17.

CONCLUSION

The study revealed a high incidence of AKI among hospitalised patients who died due to COVID-19. It also found that those received adequate crystalloid fluids at the time of admission had a lower incidence of AKI.Contribution: Acute kidney injury can be prevented by adequate fluid management during early stage of COVID-19. Majority of COVID-19 patients were referred from lower level of care and primary care providers have their first encounter with these patients. Adequate fluid resuscitation in primary care settings can improve the outcome of hospitalised COVID-19 patients.

Kidney implications of SARS-CoV2 infection in children

Research indicates that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) infection can impact every organ, and the effects can range from asymptomatic to severe disease. Since it was first discovered in December 2019, our understanding has grown about its impact on kidney disease. In general, children have less severe disease than adults, and this tendency appears to extend to special pediatric kidney populations (e.g., chronic kidney disease and immunosuppressed patients with solid organ transplants or nephrotic syndrome). However, in a fraction of infected children, SARS-CoV2 causes an array of kidney manifestations, ranging from acute kidney injury to thrombotic microangiopathy, with potential implications for increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Additional considerations surround the propensity for clotting extracorporeal circuits in children with SARS-CoV2 infection that are receiving kidney replacement therapy. This review provides an update on our current understanding of SARS-CoV2 for pediatric nephrologists and highlights knowledge gaps to be addressed by future research during this ongoing pandemic, particularly the social disparities magnified during this period.