Importance of confirmatory tests for Sars-Cov-2 infection in hemodialysis patients: a multicenter mexican registry

• Main Authors: Olynka Vega-Vega (Author), Noemí Del Toro-Cisneros (Author), Víctor M. Sacoto-Romo (Author), Juan M. Ardavín-Ituarte (Author), Alicia Piñeirúa-Menéndez (Author), José C. Peña-Rodríguez (Author), Jesús M. Ramos-Gordillo (Author), Giovanna Y. Arteaga-Müller (Author), Héctor J. Mayorga-Madrigal (Author), Ricardo Mendiola-Fernández (Author), Néstor H. Cruz Mendoza (Author), Mauricio Arvizu-Hernández (Author), Ricardo Correa-Rotter (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Permanyer, 2023-04-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.24875/RIC.23000002; 0034-8376; 2564-8896
• Keywords: Chronic kidney disease. Hemodialysis units. COVID-19.; Internal medicine; RC31-1245
• Source: Revista de Investigación Clínica, Vol 75, Iss 2 (2023)

Background: Since the beginning of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, patients with chronic kidney disease vulnerable to suffering more severe COVID-19 disease and worse outcomes have been identified. Objectives: Our study's aim was to determine the incidence, characteristics, and outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients of hemodialysis (HD) units in Mexico and to describe the availability of confirmatory testing. Methods: This study was multicentric study of 19 HD units, conducted between March 2020 and March 2021. Results: From a total of 5779 patients, 955 (16.5%) cases of suspicious COVID-19 were detected; a SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test was done in only 50.6% of patients. Forty-five percentages were hospitalized and 6% required invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). There was no significant difference in mortality between confirmed (131/483) and suspicious (124/472) cases (p = 0.74). The percentage of patients in need of hospitalization, IMV, and deceased was greater than in the rest of the study population. Conclusions: The study revealed that 49.4% of the cases were not confirmed, a worrisome observation given that this is a highly vulnerable population (higher probability of contagion and worse outcomes), in which 100% of patients should have a confirmatory test.