Kim NY, et al. Diabetes Metab J. 2020 Apr;44(2):349-353. https://doi.org/10.4093/dmj.2020.0091

The outcome of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with organ damage; however, the information about the relationship between acute kidney injury (AKI) and COVID-19 is still rare. We evaluated the clinical features and prognosis of COVID-19 patients with AKI according to the AKI severity. Medical data of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in two university-based hospitals during an outbreak in Daegu, South Korea, were retrospectively analyzed. AKI and its severity were defined according to the Acute Kidney Injury Network. Of the 164 hospitalized patients with COVID-19, 30 patients (18.3%) had AKI; 14, 4, and 12 patients had stage 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The median age was significantly higher in AKI patients than in non-AKI patients (75.5 vs. 67.0 years, p = 0.005). There were 17 deaths (56.7%) among AKI patients; 4 (28.6%), 1 (25.0%), and 12 (100.0%), respectively. In-hospital mortality was higher in AKI patients than in non-AKI patients (56.7% vs. 20.8%, p < 0.001). After adjusting for potential confounding factors, stage 3 AKI was associated with higher mortality than either non-AKI or stage 1 AKI (hazard ratio (HR) = 3.62 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.75–7.48), p = 0.001; HR = 15.65 (95% CI = 2.43–100.64), p = 0.004). Among the AKI patients, acute respiratory distress syndrome and low serum albumin on admission were considered independent risk factors for stage 3 AKI (both p < 0.05). Five patients with stage 3 AKI underwent dialysis and eventually died. In conclusion, COVID-19 patients with severe AKI had fatal outcomes.

The effect of intubation timing on the prognosis of critically ill patients with coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is not yet well understood. We investigated whether early intubation is associated with the survival of COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This multicenter, retrospective, observational study was done on 47 adult COVID-19 patients with ARDS who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) in Daegu, Korea between February 17 and April 23, 2020. Clinical characteristics and in-hospital mortality were compared between the early intubation and initially non-intubated groups, and between the early and late intubation groups, respectively. Of the 47 patients studied, 23 (48.9%) were intubated on the day of meeting ARDS criteria (early intubation), while 24 (51.1%) were not initially intubated. Eight patients were never intubated during the in-hospital course. Median follow-up duration was 46 days, and 21 patients (44.7%) died in the hospital. No significant difference in in-hospital mortality rate was noted between the early group and initially non-intubated groups (56.5% vs. 33.3%, p = 0.110). Furthermore, the risk of in-hospital death in the early intubation group was not significantly different compared to the initially non-intubated group on multivariate adjusted analysis (p = 0.385). Results were similar between early and late intubation in the subgroup analysis of 39 patients treated with mechanical ventilation. In conclusion, in this study of critically ill COVID-19 patients with ARDS, early intubation was not associated with improved survival. This result may help in the efficient allocation of limited medical resources, such as ventilators.

Patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) or who are on hemodialysis (HD) could have increased susceptibility to the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) given their pre-existing comorbidities, older age, compromised immune system, and regular visits to populated outpatient dialysis centers. This study included 14 consecutive patients on HD or with advanced CKD who initiated HD after being diagnosed with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 from February to April 2020 in hospitals throughout Daegu, South Korea. The included patients, 42.9% of whom were men, had a mean age of 63.5 years. Four patients had a history of contact with a patient suffering from COVID-19. The most common symptom was cough (50.0%), followed by dyspnea (35.7%). The mean time from symptom onset to diagnosis and admission was 2.6 and 3.5 days, respectively. Patients exhibited lymphopenia and elevated inflammatory markers, including C-reactive protein and ferritin. Chest radiography findings showed pulmonary infiltration in 10 patients. All patients underwent regular HD in a negative pressure room and received antiviral agents. Four patients received mechanical ventilation and continuous renal replacement therapy at a median duration of 14.0 and 8.5 days, respectively. One patient underwent extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for three days. Among the 14 patients included, two died due to acute respiratory distress syndrome, nine were discharged from the hospital, and three remained hospitalized. Despite the high-risk conditions associated with worse outcomes, patients on HD did not exhibit extremely poor overall COVID-19 outcomes perhaps due to early diagnosis, prompt hospitalization, and antiviral therapy.

Park B, et al. Korean J Radiol. 2020 Jul;21:e130. https://doi.org/10.3348/kjr.2020.0567

Kim HN, et al. J Korean Med Sci. 2020 May;35(27):e258. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e258