Reports show that AKI is a common complication of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in hospitalized patients. Studies have also observed proteinuria and microscopic hematuria in such ...patients. Although a recent autopsy series of patients who died with severe COVID-19 in China found acute tubular necrosis in the kidney, a few patient reports have also described collapsing glomerulopathy in COVID-19.
We evaluated biopsied kidney samples from ten patients at our institution who had COVID-19 and clinical features of AKI, including proteinuria with or without hematuria. We documented clinical features, pathologic findings, and outcomes.
Our analysis included ten patients who underwent kidney biopsy (mean age: 65 years); five patients were black, three were Hispanic, and two were white. All patients had proteinuria. Eight patients had severe AKI, necessitating RRT. All biopsy samples showed varying degrees of acute tubular necrosis, and one patient had associated widespread myoglobin casts. In addition, two patients had findings of thrombotic microangiopathy, one had pauci-immune crescentic GN, and another had global as well as segmental glomerulosclerosis with features of healed collapsing glomerulopathy. Interestingly, although the patients had confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection by RT-PCR, immunohistochemical staining of kidney biopsy samples for SARS-CoV-2 was negative in all ten patients. Also, ultrastructural examination by electron microscopy showed no evidence of viral particles in the biopsy samples.
The most common finding in our kidney biopsy samples from ten hospitalized patients with AKI and COVID-19 was acute tubular necrosis. There was no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 in the biopsied kidney tissue.
The rate of acute kidney injury (AKI) associated with patients hospitalized with Covid-19, and associated outcomes are not well understood. This study describes the presentation, risk factors and ...outcomes of AKI in patients hospitalized with Covid-19. We reviewed the health records for all patients hospitalized with Covid-19 between March 1, and April 5, 2020, at 13 academic and community hospitals in metropolitan New York. Patients younger than 18 years of age, with end stage kidney disease or with a kidney transplant were excluded. AKI was defined according to KDIGO criteria. Of 5,449 patients admitted with Covid-19, AKI developed in 1,993 (36.6%). The peak stages of AKI were stage 1 in 46.5%, stage 2 in 22.4% and stage 3 in 31.1%. Of these, 14.3% required renal replacement therapy (RRT). AKI was primarily seen in Covid-19 patients with respiratory failure, with 89.7% of patients on mechanical ventilation developing AKI compared to 21.7% of non-ventilated patients. 276/285 (96.8%) of patients requiring RRT were on ventilators. Of patients who required ventilation and developed AKI, 52.2% had the onset of AKI within 24 hours of intubation. Risk factors for AKI included older age, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, black race, hypertension and need for ventilation and vasopressor medications. Among patients with AKI, 694 died (35%), 519 (26%) were discharged and 780 (39%) were still hospitalized. AKI occurs frequently among patients with Covid-19 disease. It occurs early and in temporal association with respiratory failure and is associated with a poor prognosis.
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Immunization is one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20
century. Vaccines have enabled the eradication of deadly diseases and decreased the morbidity and mortality associated with ...various infections. Most vaccines are safe to administer and cause only minor side effects. Although very rare, various glomerular diseases and acute kidney injury have been reported following immunization with certain vaccines including influenza, pneumococcal, and hepatitis B vaccines. This review summarizes these rare renal complications that have been published in the literature. Physicians and other health-care providers administrating vaccines should be aware of these very rare but possible renal side effects.
Outcomes of patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and acute kidney injury (AKI) are not well understood. The goal of this study was to investigate the survival and kidney ...outcomes of these patients.
Retrospective cohort study.
Patients (aged≥18 years) hospitalized with COVID-19 at 13 hospitals in metropolitan New York between March 1, 2020, and April 27, 2020, followed up until hospital discharge.
AKI.
Primary outcome: in-hospital death. Secondary outcomes: requiring dialysis at discharge, recovery of kidney function.
Univariable and multivariable time-to-event analysis and logistic regression.
Among 9,657 patients admitted with COVID-19, the AKI incidence rate was 38.4/1,000 patient-days. Incidence rates of in-hospital death among patients without AKI, with AKI not requiring dialysis (AKI stages 1-3), and with AKI receiving dialysis (AKI 3D) were 10.8, 31.1, and 37.5/1,000 patient-days, respectively. Taking those without AKI as the reference group, we observed greater risks for in-hospital death for patients with AKI 1-3 and AKI 3D (HRs of 5.6 95% CI, 5.0-6.3 and 11.3 95% CI, 9.6-13.1, respectively). After adjusting for demographics, comorbid conditions, and illness severity, the risk for death remained higher among those with AKI 1-3 (adjusted HR, 3.4 95% CI, 3.0-3.9) and AKI 3D (adjusted HR, 6.4 95% CI, 5.5-7.6) compared with those without AKI. Among patients with AKI 1-3 who survived, 74.1% achieved kidney recovery by the time of discharge. Among those with AKI 3D who survived, 30.6% remained on dialysis at discharge, and prehospitalization chronic kidney disease was the only independent risk factor associated with needing dialysis at discharge (adjusted OR, 9.3 95% CI, 2.3-37.8).
Observational retrospective study, limited to the NY metropolitan area during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
AKI in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 was associated with significant risk for death.
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Background Outcomes for patients with late-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the United States are suboptimal. There is poor education and preparation for end-stage kidney disease, as well as a ...high rate of hospitalization in this group of patients. Study Design A randomized, parallel-group, 2-arm, controlled trial. Setting & Participants The study was conducted at 3 sites: a clinic of an academic medical center, a public hospital academic clinic, and a community-based private practice. All participants had late-stage CKD (stages 4-5 CKD). Patients were excluded only if they had significant cognitive impairment. Intervention The care management intervention involved nurse care manager coordination aided by the use of a disease-based informatics system for monitoring patients’ clinical status, enhancing CKD education, and facilitating preparation for end-stage kidney disease. The comparison control group received usual late-stage CKD care alone. Outcomes The primary outcome was rate of hospitalization. Measurements Rates of preemptive transplantation, home dialysis, hemodialysis (HD) starts without a hospitalization, and HD therapy initiation rates with catheters or with functioning accesses. Results 130 patients were randomly assigned. The hospitalization rate was significantly lower in the intervention group versus controls: 0.61 versus 0.92 per year, respectively (incidence rate ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.43-0.99; P = 0.04). Peritoneal dialysis or preemptive transplantation was the initial end-stage kidney disease treatment in 11 of 30 (37%) participants receiving the intervention versus 3 of 29 (10%) receiving usual care. Among HD starts, treatment was initiated without hospitalization in 11 of 19 (58%) participants in the intervention group versus 6 of 26 (23%) in the control group. At the time of HD therapy initiation, a catheter was present in 7 of 19 (37%) participants in the intervention group versus 18 of 26 (69%) in the control group. A functioning arteriovenous access was in place in 10 of 19 (53%) participants in the intervention group and 7 of 26 (27%) in the control group Limitations Moderate sample size, limited geographic scope. Conclusions The augmented nurse care management intervention resulted in reduced hospitalizations in late-stage CKD and there were suggestions of improved end-stage kidney disease preparation. Given suboptimal outcomes in late-stage CKD, care management interventions could potentially improve patient outcomes.
Glomerular lesions have been recognized in a number of malignant diseases. Membranous nephropathy is the most common glomerular pathology associated with solid tumors. In Hodgkin’s disease, the most ...common lesion is minimal change disease, reflecting possibly an anomaly of T-cell function. On the other hand, in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a large proportion of glomerular lesions fall into the category of membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. Membranous nephropathy is also the most common glomerular disease seen following stem cell transplantation, suggesting a possible immune-mediated mechanism. Chemotherapy agents such as interferon, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and bisphosphonates have also been associated with various glomerular diseases and thrombotic microangiopathy. Failure to recognize certain paraneoplastic glomerular diseases can lead to potentially unnecessary therapies. This review describes the association of glomerular diseases with solid tumors, hematological malignancies, stem cell transplantation, and chemotherapeutic agents. We also describe the pitfalls in diagnosis and the dilemma in treating these entities.
Background There is a decreased interest in nephrology such that the number of trainees likely will not meet the upcoming workforce demands posed by the projected number of patients with kidney ...disease. We conducted a survey of US internal medicine subspecialty fellows in fields other than nephrology to determine why they did not choose nephrology. Methods A web-based survey with multiple choice, yes/no, and open-ended questions was sent in summer 2011 to trainees reached through internal medicine subspecialty program directors. Results 714 fellows responded to the survey (11% response rate). All non-nephrology internal medicine subspecialties were represented, and 90% of respondents were from university-based programs. Of the respondents, 31% indicated that nephrology was the most difficult physiology course taught in medical school, and 26% had considered nephrology as a career choice. Nearly one-fourth of the respondents said they would have considered nephrology if the field had higher income or the subject were taught well during medical school and residency training. The top reasons for not choosing nephrology were the belief that patients with end-stage renal disease were too complicated, the lack of a mentor, and that there were insufficient procedures in nephrology. Conclusions Most non-nephrology internal medicine subspecialty fellows never considered nephrology as a career choice. A significant proportion were dissuaded by factors such as the challenges of the patient population, lack of role models, lack of procedures, and perceived difficulty of the subject matter. Addressing these factors will require the concerted effort of nephrologists throughout the training community.
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