Clinical Symptoms in 44 Hemodialysis Patients Who Survived and Recovered from a Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 Infection and COVID-19 in Relation to Age and Hospitalization: An International Experience

Background: A novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is now rapidly spreading throughout the world Patients undergoing long-term in-center hemodialysis (HD) are highly vulnerable given kidney failure, comorbidities, and the need for frequent visits to a dialysis facility Methods: A total of 610 patients on maintenance HD at DaVita clinics in 6 countries were tested for presence of infection with SARS-CoV-2 using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) between March 28 and May 18 Of these, 115 HD patients (19%) were positive Information up to May 25, 2020, show that 44 patients have recovered Clinical symptoms during infection with SARS-CoV-2 are reported from these 44 recovering survivors (Germany 13 patients, Poland 12, Portugal 12, Colombia 2, Saudi Arabia 3, and Malaysia 2) and classified into 4 categories: no symptoms, mild, moderate, or severe symptoms Hospitalizations and time to recovery were also analyzed Statistical comparisons were made using Chi-2 analysis and Kruskal-Wallis tests Results: Of the 44 patients recovering from COVID-19, 22 patients were ≥70 years and 9 patients were >;80 years Symptoms in relation to age, hospitalization, and time to recovery are shown below Conclusions: The majority of HD patients (66%) who recovered from COVID-19 had no or mild clinical symptoms during the infection There were no significant differences in the occurrence of symptoms from SARS-CoV-2 in relation to age, hospitalization, or time to recovery Additionally, old and frail HD patients with confirmed COVID-19 may have mild symptoms of the disease