New Unexpected Covid-19 Complication: Kidney Damage

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In recent weeks, front-line physicians in intensive care units in New York and other affected cities in the United States have found that the novel coronavirus is also shutting down the kidneys of a number of patients and presenting kidney stones.

Doctors need to move a limited number of dialysis machines from one kidney failure patient to another, according to a report in The New York Times.

Kidney specialists now estimate that between 20 and 40 percent of intensive care (ICU) patients with coronavirus have suffered from renal failure and needed emergency dialysis.

It is not yet known whether the kidneys are a major target for the virus, or yet another victim as the patient’s ravaged body surrenders. It is also unclear whether the damage is permanent.

In any event, people with chronic kidney disease are among the most vulnerable groups, according to WHO, as they do not produce kidney hormones and have low immunity.

Previous reports from China suggested a low incidence of kidney damage from Covid-19, but as more data emerged from there – and from Italy – news began to spread that many of the most critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation would also need dialysis.

In New York, hospitals called on the federal government to prioritize equipment, supplies and staff for the most needy areas in the country, adding that the manufacturers of ventilators and dialysis equipment have failed to fully meet the demand.

In Brazil, the Brazilian Society of Nephrology stresses the need for patients with Chronic Renal Disease to avoid interrupting dialysis if they suspect or contract the virus.

Here, the majority of efforts to acquire and distribute equipment are linked to ventilators. In early April, the federal government closed the purchase of at least 6,500 ventilators with a delivery deadline of up to 180 days.

Source: Exame