%0 Journal Article
%A Crespo, Marta
%A Mazuecos, Auxiliadora
%A Rodrigo, Emilio
%A Gavela, Eva
%A Villanego, Florentino
%A Sánchez-Alvarez, Emilio
%A González-Monte, Esther
%A Jiménez-Martín, Carlos
%A Melilli, Edoardo
%A Diekman, Fritz
%A Zárraga, Sofía
%A Hernández, Domingo
%A Pascual, Julio
%A Spanish Society of Nephrology COVID-19 Group
%T Respiratory and Gastrointestinal COVID-19 Phenotypes in Kidney Transplant Recipients.
%D 2020
%U http://hdl.handle.net/10668/16112
%X Coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed at risk the kidney transplant (KT) population. We describe clinical pictures, risk factors for death, and chances to recovery in a large cohort of KT recipients with COVID-19. Inclusion in a Spanish prospectively filled registry was allowed for KT cases with confirmed COVID-19. Outcomes were assessed as in-hospital mortality or recovery. The study population comprised of 414 patients. Fever, respiratory symptoms, and dyspnea were the most frequent COVID-19-related symptoms, and 81.4% of them had pneumonia. More than one-third of patients showed digestive symptoms at diagnosis, combinations of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Most patients were hospitalized, 12.1% in intensive care units, and 17.6% needed ventilator support. Treatment for COVID-19 included frequently hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, high-dose steroids, lopinavir/ritonavir, and tocilizumab. After a mean follow-up of 44 days, the fatality rate was 26.3%. Pneumonia without gastrointestinal symptoms was associated with a 36.3% mortality (respiratory phenotype), and gastrointestinal symptoms without pneumonia with a 5.3% mortality (gastrointestinal phenotype). The mixed pneumonia and gastrointestinal phenotype showed an intermediate mortality of 19.5% (mixed phenotype). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that age and pneumonia were independently associated with death, whereas the gastrointestinal phenotype was associated with recovery. COVID-19 is frequent among the KT population. Advanced age and pneumonia are the main clinical features associated with a high-mortality rate. Gastrointestinal disease is associated with a more benign course and lower mortality.
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