THE ESSENTIAL
- Covid-19 can have effects on kidney function.
- People hospitalized following the infection are more likely to suffer from a reduction in their kidney function.
- Compared to other forms of pneumonia, Covid-19 is more detrimental to kidney health.
Five years ago, SARS-CoV-2 appeared in China. The consequences of themysterious pneumonia” on the organism were still unclear. Today, scientists continue to work on the long-term effects of the disease. In the magazine Jama Networka team of researchers shows that the infection can have consequences on kidney function.
Covid-19: why analyze its effects on kidney health?
Viyaasan Mahalingasivam, Anne-Laure Faucon and Arvid Sjölander, English, French and Swedish scientists, started from an observation: acute kidney injury was observed in around 30% of hospitalizations linked to Covid-19. “Epidemiological investigations into long-term effects have been limited, they specify. Existing studies have generally found an increase in renal adverse events after Covid-19 compared to uninfected people..”
To deepen this work, they based themselves on data collected in Sweden. The researchers wanted to determine whether the decline in kidney function accelerated with disease, taking into account patients’ health status before infection. “Because severe Covid-19 typically presents as viral pneumonia, we also investigated whether the acceleration in kidney function decline differs from that observed after pneumonia caused by other pathogens.”they emphasize.
A decrease in kidney function following Covid-19
To understand the effects of the virus on the kidneys, the team used the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), which is the volume of blood filtered by the kidneys in one minute. The average drop in this rate was 5 after infection among hospitalized cases and 3.2 among non-hospitalized cases, compared to rates before infection.
In pneumonia linked to causes other than Covid-19, the reduction was 2.4 on average. There was no difference pre- and post-infection in people not hospitalized for these forms of pneumonia.
“The results of this study suggest an association between Covid-19 and accelerated decline in kidney function, particularly in hospitalized people, summarize the authors. These individuals should have closer monitoring of kidney function for early diagnosis and management of chronic kidney disease.”
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