Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 25, 2025
Digital Home-Monitoring of Patients after Kidney Transplantation: The MACCS Platform
Published on: April 12, 2021
Identification of Kidney Transplant Recipients with Coronavirus Disease 2019
Hui Zhang1, Yan Chen2, Quan Yuan3
1Department of Urology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China; These authors contributed equally to this work and share first authorship.
Insights
Mild COVID-19 in kidney transplant (KTx) recipients can be managed with supportive care and adjusted immunosuppression. Further research is needed, but this case series offers initial insights into COVID-19 in KTx patients.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Infectious Diseases
- Transplantation
Background:
- COVID-19 poses a significant threat to global health.
- Kidney transplant recipients are a vulnerable population with limited data on COVID-19.
- Understanding COVID-19's impact on KTx recipients is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the epidemiological, clinical, and therapeutic features of kidney transplant recipients with COVID-19.
- To provide initial data on managing COVID-19 in this specific patient group.
Main Methods:
- Case series of five kidney transplant recipients diagnosed with COVID-19 via nucleic acid testing (NAT).
- Data collected from January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2020.
- Analysis of symptoms, laboratory values, and treatment strategies.
Main Results:
- Common symptoms included fever and cough (100%), myalgia/fatigue (60%).
- Slight elevations in serum creatinine and urea nitrogen were observed.
- Four patients received reduced immunosuppressive therapy; three achieved negative NAT results with improved CT scans.
Conclusions:
- Mild COVID-19 in kidney transplant recipients may be manageable with symptomatic support and adjusted immunosuppression.
- This case series provides preliminary evidence for treatment approaches.
- Larger patient numbers and long-term follow-up are necessary to confirm findings.
Abstract:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel and lethal infectious disease, posing a threat to global health security. The number of cases has increased rapidly, but no data concerning kidney transplant (KTx) recipients infected with COVID-19 are available. To present the epidemiological, clinical, and therapeutic characteristics of KTx recipients infected with COVID-19, we report on a case series of five patients who were confirmed as having COVID-19 through nucleic acid testing (NAT) from January 1, 2020 to February 28, 2020. The most common symptoms on admission to hospital were fever (five patients, 100%), cough (five patients, 100%), myalgia or fatigue (three patients, 60%), and sputum production (three patients, 60%); serum creatinine or urea nitrogen levels were slightly higher than those before symptom onset. Four patients received a reduced dose of maintenance immunosuppressive therapy during hospitalization. As of March 4, 2020 NAT was negative for COVID-19 in three patients twice in succession, and their computed tomography scans showed improved images. Although greater patient numbers and long-term follow-up data are needed, our series demonstrates that mild COVID-19 infection in KTx recipients can be managed using symptomatic support therapy combined with adjusted maintenance immunosuppressive therapy.
Related Concept Videos
01:28Kidney Transplant I: Introduction
01:26Kidney Transplant II: Surgical Procedure
01:16Kidney Transplant III: Nursing Management
01:24Chronic Kidney Disease II: Clinical Manifestations
01:30Acute Kidney Injury IV: Diagnostic Studies and Prevention
01:25Chronic Kidney Disease I: Introduction