Three-month clinical, functional, and mental outcomes in kidney transplant recipients surviving COVID-19

ABSTRACT

Background: Kidney transplant patients are at high risk for COVID-19 related mortality. However, limited data are available on longer term clinical, functional and mental outcomes in patients that survive COVID-19. Methods: Data from adult kidney transplant patients that presented with COVID-19 between February 1st, 2020 and January 31st, 2021 were retrieved from the ERACODA database. Data from patients with complete data for vital status, hospitalization and/or ICU admission was used for this analysis. Results: 912 patients were included with a mean age of 56.7 (±13.7) years. 26.4% were not hospitalized, 57.5% hospitalized, and 16.1% hospitalized and ICU admitted. Three-months survival was 82.3% overall and 98.8%, 84.2% and 49.0% resp. in each group. Three-months acute rejection, need for dialysis / CVVH at any time point, and graft failure occurred in the overall group in 1.0%, 2.6% and 1.8% resp., and in 2.1%, 10.6% and 10.6% of ICU admitted patients resp. Of the surviving patients 83.3% had reached their prior functional status within 3 months. Of patients that had not yet reached their prior functional status, it was expected that 79.6% still would do so within the coming year. 94.4% had reached their prior mental status. Of patients that had not yet reached their prior mental status, it was expected that 80% of patients would do so within the coming year. Conclusions: In patients alive at three-months follow-up, graft loss was rare, and most patients had reached their pre-COVID-19 functional and mental status. Clinical, functional, and mental outcomes in kidney transplant recipients three months after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Data of 487 patients were available for analysis of graft function related outcomes. Data of 450 patients were available for functional and mental status outcomes.