A call to optimize haemodialysis vascular access care in healthcare disrupted by COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in major disruption to the delivery of both routine and urgent healthcare needs in many institutions across the globe. Vascular access (VA) for haemodalysis (HD) is considered the patient's lifeline and its maintenance is essential for the continuation of a life saving treatment. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the provision of VA for dialysis was already constrained. Throughout the pandemic, inevitably, many patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have not received timely intervention for VA care. This could have a detrimental impact on dialysis patient outcomes in the near future and needs to be addressed urgently. Many societies have issued prioritisation to allow rationing based on clinical risk, mainly according to estimated urgency and need for treatment. The recommendations recently proposed by the European and American Vascular Societies in the COVID-19 pandemic era regarding the triage of various vascular operations into urgent, emergent and elective are debatable. VA creation and interventions maintain the lifeline of complex HD patients, and the indication for surgery and other interventions warrants patient-specific clinical judgement and pathways. Keeping the use of central venous catheters at a minimum, with the goal of creating the right access, in the right patient, at the right time, and for the right reasons, is mandatory. These strategies may require local modifications. Risk assessments may need specific "renal pathways" to be developed rather than applying standard surgical risk stratification. In conclusion, in order to recover from the second wave of COVID-19 and prepare for further phases, the provision of the best dialysis access, including peritoneal dialysis, will require working closely with the multidisciplinary team involved in the assessment, creation, cannulation, surveillance, maintenance, and salvage of definitive access.

COVID-19 infection control measures and outcomes in urban dialysis centers in predominantly African American communities.

BACKGROUND: Emory Dialysis serves an urban and predominantly African American population at its four outpatient dialysis facilities. We describe COVID-19 infection control measures implemented and clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19 in the Emory Dialysis facilities. METHODS: Implementation of COVID-19 infection procedures commenced in February 2020. Subsequently, COVID-19 preparedness assessments were conducted at each facility. Patients with COVID-19 from March 1-May 31, 2020 were included; with a follow-up period spanning March-June 30, 2020. Percentages of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were calculated, and characteristics of COVID-19 patients were summarized as medians or percentage. Baseline characteristics of all patients receiving care at Emory Dialysis (i.e. Emory general dialysis population) were presented as medians and percentages. RESULTS: Of 751 dialysis patients, 23 (3.1%) were diagnosed with COVID-19. The median age was 67.0 years and 13 patients (56.6%) were female. Eleven patients (47.8%) were residents of nursing homes. Nineteen patients (82.6%) required hospitalization and 6 patients (26.1%) died; the average number of days from a positive SARS-CoV-2 (COVID) test to death was 16.8 days (range 1-34). Two patients dialyzing at adjacent dialysis stations and a dialysis staff who cared for them, were diagnosed with COVID-19 in a time frame that may suggest transmission in the dialysis facility. In response, universal masking in the facility was implemented (prior to national guidelines recommending universal masking), infection control audits and re-trainings of PPE were also done to bolster infection control practices. CONCLUSION: We successfully implemented recommended COVID-19 infection control measures aimed at mitigating the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Most of the patients with COVID-19 required hospitalizations. Dialysis facilities should remain vigilant and monitor for possible transmission of COVID-19 in the facility.

COVID-19 and maintenance hemodialysis: a systematic scoping review of practice guidelines.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has substantially impacted the provision of medical services. During the pandemic, many medical services, including facilities providing care to patients with end stage renal disease faced challenges in safeguarding patients and staff while providing clinical care. This study aims to identify the extent, range, and nature of articles related to COVID-19 and maintenance hemodialysis to understand the research gaps and propose recommendations for future research. METHODS: Using the terms: "Dialysis" OR "RRT" OR "Renal replacement therapy" AND "SARS-COV-2" OR "COVID-19" OR "novel coronavirus" OR "2019-nCov", we performed a multi-step systematic search of the literature in the English language in Pubmed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science published from December 1, 2019, to May 13, 2020. Two authors separately screened the title and abstracts of the documents and ruled out irrelevant articles. We obtained a full report of the papers that met our inclusion criteria and screened the full texts. We conducted a descriptive analysis of the characteristics of the included articles and performed a narrative synthesis of the results. We conducted this scoping review in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR Checklist. RESULTS: We included 22 articles in this scoping review. Perspectives (n = 9), editorials (n = 4), and case series (n = 5) were the most common types of articles. Most articles were from Italy and the United States. Seventeen (77.3%) of the articles focused on the topic of recommendation for outpatient hemodialysis units. While many of the recommendations overlapped in several articles, there were also many unique recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: most of the articles are based on single-center experience, which spontaneously developed best practices. Many of these practices have formed the basis for policies and guidelines that will guide future prevention of infection and management of patients with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) and COVID-19.

Good Practice Recommendations from the Brazilian Society of Nephrology to Dialysis Units Concerning the Pandemic of the New Coronavirus (Covid-19).

Dialysis units are environments potentially prone to the spread of Covid-19. Patients cannot suspend treatment, and they often have comorbidities, which assigns them a higher risk and worse prognosis. The Brazilian Society of Nephrology prepared this document of good practices, whose technical recommendations deal with general measures that can be implemented to reduce the risk of transmission and prevent the spread of the disease in the unit.

Policy and Pandemic: The Changing Practice of Nephrology During the Coronavirus Disease-2019 Outbreak.

The coronavirus (coronavirus disease-2019) pandemic has changed care delivery for patients with end-stage kidney disease. We explore the US healthcare system as it pertains to dialysis care, including existing policies, modifications implemented in response to the coronavirus disease-2019 crisis, and possible next steps for policy makers and nephrologists. This includes policies related to resource management, use of telemedicine, prioritization of dialysis access procedures, expansion of home dialysis modalities, administrative duties, and quality assessment. The government has already established policies that have instated some flexibilities to help providers focus their response to the crisis. However, future policy during and after the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic can bolster our ability to optimize care for patients with end-stage kidney disease. Key themes in this perspective are the importance of policy flexibility, clear strategies for emergency preparedness, and robust health systems that maximize accessibility and patient autonomy.

[Management of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) coronavirus epidemic in hemodialysis units]. / Manejo de la epidemia por coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) en unidades de hemodiálisis.

The current outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 represents a special risk for renal patients due to their comorbidities and advanced age. The usual performance of hemodialysis treatments in collective rooms increases the risk. The specific information at this time in this regard is very limited. This manuscript includes a proposal for action to prevent infection in the Nephrology Services, and in particular in Hemodialysis Units, with the objective of early identification of patients who meet the definition of a suspected case of infection by SARS-CoV-2 and propose circuits and mechanisms to carry out hemodialysis treatments. They are recommendations in continuous review and can be modified if the epidemiological situation, the diagnostic and therapeutic options so require.

Consensus recommendations for the care of children receiving chronic dialysis in association with the COVID-19 epidemic.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly spread not only in China but throughout the world. Children with kidney failure (chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 5) are at significant risk for COVID-19. In turn, a set of recommendations for the prevention and control of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and COVID-19 in pediatric hemodialysis (HD) centers and in home peritoneal dialysis (PD) settings have been proposed. The recommendations are based on the epidemiological features of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19 disease, susceptibility factors, and preventive and control strategies. These recommendations will be updated as new information regarding SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 becomes available.