The impact of comorbidities on clinical course and outcome, in kidney transplant recipients with COVID-19: A systematic review and analysis

ABSTRACT

Background: The literature on the impact of comorbidities on the severity and outcome of COVID-19 in kidney transplant patients is limited. We aimed to review the same. Methods: We conducted this review as per Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis recommendations. PUBMED, Embase, Scopus, and Science Direct were searched for studies, available online till May 31, 2020. Studies reporting comorbidities, clinical course, and outcome of each kidney transplant patient with COVID-19 were included. Studies on any other organ transplant, recommendations, or review articles were excluded. The impact of comorbidities on severity and outcome was assessed. The study appraisal was done using Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist. Continuous variables were compared using Mann-Whitney U-test. Categorical variables were compared using Fisher's exact test. A univariate and multivariate logistic regression for predictors of severity and outcome, was done. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The study protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020190114). Results: We analyzed 19 studies (56 patients) out of the 355 identified. The most common comorbidity was hypertension (83.92%). Nearly 30.35% of the patients had severe clinical course. The mortality rate was 19.64%. Advanced age was statistically significantly associated with severe course (P = 0.0173) and death (P = 0.0005). Men were more likely to have nonsevere course (P < 0.0001). No comorbidity had any impact on the severity or outcome. Patients with severe disease had higher odds of dying (P = 0.002). Conclusions: Comorbidities were not found to have any significant impact, hence the contribution of immunosuppression toward the severity of COVID-19 needs to be studied. Ours is the first review to assess the impact of comorbidities in kidney transplant patients with COVID-19 but limited by the number of patients.