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Updated: Oct 14, 2025

Assessment of Vascular Function in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease
Published on: June 16, 2014
Anticoagulation therapy in COVID-19 patients with chronic kidney disease
Mohammad Ali Shafiee1, Sayyideh Forough Hosseini1, Mojgan Mortazavi2
1Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
Insights
Patients with COVID-19 and chronic kidney disease (CKD) face higher risks of bleeding and thrombosis. Careful management of anticoagulant therapy is crucial for this high-risk group.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Hematology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- COVID-19 infection frequently causes coagulopathy, increasing risks of thrombosis and hemorrhage.
- Patients with concurrent chronic kidney disease (CKD) and COVID-19 (CKD/COVID-19) present unique challenges due to renal dysfunction impacting coagulation parameters.
- Renal dysfunction in CKD/COVID-19 patients elevates risks for both thrombotic and bleeding events.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the heightened risk of thrombosis and hemorrhage in CKD/COVID-19 patients.
- To emphasize the need for careful consideration of renal function's effect on coagulation assessments.
- To advocate for individualized management strategies for anticoagulant therapy in this unique patient population.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on coagulopathy in COVID-19 and its interaction with chronic kidney disease.
- Analysis of how renal dysfunction affects standard coagulation tests used for thrombosis risk stratification.
- Discussion of clinical implications for managing anticoagulant therapy in CKD/COVID-19 patients.
Main Results:
- CKD/COVID-19 patients are a high-risk group for thrombotic and hemorrhagic complications.
- Standard coagulation parameters may be falsely affected by renal dysfunction, complicating accurate risk assessment.
- There is a current lack of specific studies guiding anticoagulant therapy for CKD/COVID-19 patients.
Conclusions:
- Individualized assessment of clinical status and kidney function is essential for optimizing anticoagulant therapy in CKD/COVID-19 patients.
- Further research is needed to establish evidence-based guidelines for managing coagulopathy and anticoagulant use in this vulnerable population.
- Special attention must be paid to the interplay between COVID-19, CKD, and coagulation to improve patient outcomes.
Abstract:
Coagulopathy and derangements in the coagulation parameters are significant features of COVID-19 infection, which increases the risk of disseminated intravascular coagulation, thrombosis, and hemorrhage in these patients, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality. In times of COVID-19, special consideration should be given to patients with concurrent chronic kidney disease (CKD) and COVID-19 (CKD/COVID-19 patients) as renal dysfunction increases their risk of thrombosis and hemorrhage, and falsely affects some of the coagulation factors, which are currently utilized to assess thrombosis risk in patients with COVID-19. Hence, we believe extra attention should be given to determining the risk of thrombosis and bleeding and optimizing the timing and dosage of anticoagulant therapy in this unique population of patients. CKD/COVID-19 patients are considered a high-risk population for thrombotic events and hemorrhage. Furthermore, effects of renal function on paraclinical and clinical data should be considered during the evaluation and interpretation of thrombosis risk stratification. Individualized evaluation of clinical status and kidney function is necessary to determine the best approach and management for anticoagulant therapy, whereas there is a lack of studies about the population of CKD/COVID-19 patients who need anticoagulant therapy now.
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