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INTRODUCTION: Remdesivir has demonstrated antiviral activity against coronavirus, shortening the time to recovery in adults hospitalized with moderate/severe COVID-19. Severe adverse events such as acute kidney injury have been reported. Scant data are available on the use and safety of remdesivir in kidney transplant recipients. METHODS: We present a multicenter cohort study of 51 kidney transplant recipients with COVID-19 treated with remdesivir. Outcomes and safety were assessed. RESULTS: Mean age at diagnosis was 60 years, with a median time since kidney transplant of 4.5 years. Mean time since admission to remdesivir was 2 days. Twenty-eight patients (54.9%) required mechanical ventilation (19 noninvasive). Mortality was 18.9% and markedly higher if aged ≥65 years (45% vs. 3.2% in younger patients). Acute kidney injury was present in 27.7% of patients, but was diagnosed in 50% before treatment. No patients required remdesivir discontinuation because of adverse events. We did not find significant hepatoxicity or systemic symptoms resulting from the drug. CONCLUSION: In our cohort of kidney transplant recipients, remdesivir was well tolerated and safe in renal and hepatic toxicity, but randomized trials are needed to assess its efficacy.
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BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health challenge that puts health systems in a highly vulnerable situation. Nurses in critical care units (CCUs) and hospital emergency services (HESs) have provided care to patients with COVID-19 under pressure and uncertainty. OBJECTIVE: To identify needs related to safety, organisation, decision-making, communication and psycho-socio-emotional needs perceived by critical care and emergency nurses in the region of Madrid, Spain, during the acute phase of the epidemic crisis. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study (the first phase of a mixed methods study) with critical care and emergency nurses from 26 public hospitals in Madrid using an online questionnaire. RESULTS: The response rate was 557, with 37.5% reporting working with the fear of becoming infected and its consequences, 28.2% reported elevated workloads, high patient-nurse ratios and shifts that did not allow them to disconnect or rest, while taking on more responsibilities when managing patients with COVID-19 (23.9%). They also reported deficiencies in communication with middle management (21.2%), inability to provide psycho-social care to patients and families and being emotionally exhausted (53.5%), with difficulty in venting emotions (44.9%). CONCLUSIONS: Critical care and emegency nurses may be categorised as a vulnerable population. It is thus necessary to delve deeper into further aspects of their experiences of the pandemic.