Prevalence of COVID-19, kidney damage profile and death in intensive care during the pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: the acute kidney injury is one of the main complications of SARs-Cov-2 infection. Objective: identify the COVID-19 prevalence and kidney damage of evaluated patients followed up by nephrology team in an intensive care unit. Materials and Methods: adults and elderly people of both genders followed up by the nephrology team and performed the RT PCR test for COVID were included on this study. For analysis and comparison, the patients were divided in RTP PCR positive and negative groups. To assess the kidney damage impact on death rates another analysis was performed considering the death or the absence of death as outcome. Results: the prevalence of COVID-19 was 58.5% and the prevalence of AKI was 75.0% among the 176 patients. More than half of patients (55.2%) undergoing renal replacement therapy tested positive for COVID-19. On the evaluation of Charlson Comorbidity Index was identified statistically significant difference in the proportions of the negative and positive COVID-19 groups in scores 0, 1 and 2. The second analysis identified a significant association between kidney disease and death in the ICU (p < 0.05). Patients with CKD died less 13/98 (13.3%) when compared to those with AKI 85/98 (86.7%). When they had both COVID-19 and AKI, the mortality rate was 69.0%. Conclusion: the prevalence of COVID-19 in patients undergoing intensive care during the first semester of 2021 was higher than 50% and the AKI prevalence in patients tested positive for COVID-19 was higher than 80%. The death rates among the patients with AKI and COVID-19 simultaneously were upper than 60%.