Covid-19 and Kidney Transplantation | NEJM

To the Editor:

Kidney-transplant recipients look like at significantly excessive threat for crucial Covid-19 sickness attributable to continual immunosuppression and coexisting situations.¹ At Montefiore Medical Heart, we recognized 36 consecutive grownup kidney-transplant recipients who examined constructive for Covid-19 between March 16 and April 1, 2020. A complete of 26 recipients (72%) have been male, and the median age was 60 years (vary, 32 to 77). Fourteen recipients (39%) have been black, and 15 recipients (42%) have been Hispanic. Twenty-seven recipients (75%) had acquired a deceased-donor kidney; 34 recipients (94%) had hypertension, 25 (69%) had diabetes mellitus, 13 (36%) had a historical past of smoking tobacco or have been present people who smoke, and 6 (17%) had coronary heart illness. Thirty-five of the sufferers (97%) have been receiving tacrolimus, 34 (94%) have been receiving prednisone, and 31 (86%) have been receiving mycophenolate mofetil or mycophenolic acid.

The commonest preliminary symptom was fever (in 21 sufferers [58%]), and diarrhea was noticed in eight sufferers (22%). Eight sufferers who have been in secure situation with out main respiratory signs (22%) have been monitored at house, and 28 sufferers (78%) have been admitted to the hospital. Twenty-seven of the hospitalized sufferers (96%) had radiographic findings that have been according to viral pneumonia, and 11 (39%) acquired mechanical air flow. Six sufferers (21%) acquired renal substitute remedy. At a median follow-up of 21 days (vary, 14 to 28), 10 of the 36 kidney-transplant recipients (28%) and seven of the 11 sufferers who have been intubated (64%) had died. Two of the eight sufferers who have been monitored as outpatients died at house; each have been latest kidney-transplant recipients who had acquired antithymocyte globulin throughout the earlier 5 weeks (see the Supplementary Appendix, accessible with the total textual content of this text at NEJM.org).

Desk 1. Desk 1. Medical Options and Outcomes within the Kidney-Transplant Recipients.

Table 1 summarizes the preliminary laboratory leads to the 28 hospitalized sufferers. Twenty-two (79%) have been lymphopenic, 12 (43%) had thrombocytopenia, 19 (68%) had low CD3 cell counts, 20 (71%) had low CD4 cell counts, and eight (29%) had low CD8 cell counts. Inflammatory markers have been measured, and 10 sufferers (36%) had ferritin ranges greater than 900 ng per milliliter, 13 (46%) had C-reactive protein ranges greater than 5 mg per deciliter, 12 (43%) had procalcitonin ranges greater than 0.2 ng per milliliter, and 16 (57%) had d-dimer ranges greater than 0.5 μg per milliliter.

Though efficient remedy of Covid-19 is presently unknown,² immunosuppressive administration included withdrawal of an antimetabolite in 24 of 28 sufferers (86%). As well as, tacrolimus was withheld in 6 of the 28 severely sick sufferers (21%). Hydroxychloroquine was administered to 24 of those 28 sufferers (86%). Apixaban was administered to sufferers with d-dimer ranges greater than 3.Zero μg per milliliter. Six severely sick sufferers acquired the CCR5 inhibitor leronlimab (PRO 140, CytoDyn) on a compassionate-use foundation, and a pair of acquired the interleukin-6 receptor antagonist tocilizumab. Interleukin-6 ranges have been very elevated (vary, 83 to 8175 pg per milliliter) when leronlimab was initiated (on day 0) within the 5 sufferers with elevated interleukin-6 ranges; these ranges decreased markedly Three days later (vary, 37 to 2022 pg per milliliter) (see Desk S2 within the Supplementary Appendix). Nevertheless, solely the 1 affected person who had the bottom interleukin-6 stage (at 83 pg per milliliter) remained in secure situation with out intubation.

In conclusion, at our establishment, kidney-transplant recipients with Covid-19 had much less fever as an preliminary symptom,³ decrease CD3, CD4, and CD8 cell counts,⁴ and extra fast scientific development than individuals with Covid-19 within the basic inhabitants. The variety of our sufferers with very low CD3, CD4, and CD8 cell counts not directly helps the necessity to lower doses of immunosuppressive brokers in sufferers with Covid-19, particularly in those that have just lately acquired antithymocyte globulin, which decreases all T-cell subsets for a lot of weeks. Our outcomes present a really excessive early mortality amongst kidney-transplant recipients with Covid-19 — 28% at Three weeks as in contrast with the reported 1% to five% mortality amongst sufferers with Covid-19 within the basic inhabitants who’ve undergone testing in the USA and the reported eight to 15% mortality amongst sufferers with Covid-19 who’re older than 70 years of age.

Enver Akalin, M.D.
Yorg Azzi, M.D.
Rachel Bartash, M.D.
Harish Seethamraju, M.D.
Michael Parides, Ph.D.
Vagish Hemmige, M.D.
Michael Ross, M.D.
Stefanie Forest, M.D., Ph.D.
Yitz D. Goldstein, M.D.
Maria Ajaimy, M.D.
Luz Liriano-Ward, M.D.
Cindy Pynadath, M.D.
Pablo Loarte-Campos, M.D.
Purna B. Nandigam, M.D.
Jay Graham, M.D.
Marie Le, M.D.
Juan Rocca, M.D.
Milan Kinkhabwala, M.D.
Montefiore Medical Heart, Bronx, NY
[email protected]

This letter was revealed on April 24, 2020 at NEJM.org.