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Abstract: PO0067

Kidney Transplant Patients with and Without COVID-19 Infection: Comparison of Baseline Characteristics and Outcomes

Session Information

Category: Coronavirus (COVID-19)

  • 000 Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Authors

  • Salameh, Omar Khaleel Mohammad, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States
  • Abdulbasit, Muhammad, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States
  • Dauleh, Mujahed Maher Issa, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States
  • Zebi, Ali Mohammed, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States
  • Kaur, Gurwant, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States
  • Ghahramani, Nasrollah, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States
Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with enormous impact on morbidity and mortality, particularly among individuals with chronic conditions and among patients on chronic immunosuppressive therapy. There is a need for higher quality of evidence to better identify populations at risk, in various clinical situations. We analyzed the difference in kidney transplant (KT) rejection, kidney transplant failure and mortality in patients who received a KT in 2020 and contracted COVID-19 with those who remained free of the infection, in a large multicenter cohort.

Methods

We performed a retrospective multi-center cohort study using TriNetX Research Network database, a federate medical records network, to identify 3773 unique adult patients ≥ 18 years, who had received a kidney transplant (KT) between 1/1/2020 and 12/31/2020 at 34 healthcare organizations (HCOs), mainly in the United States. From this group, we then identified patients who had a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 infection after KT. We calculated the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of mortality, KT rejection, and KT failure in the two groups during the first 3 months after KT (study period).

Results

A total of 590 patients from 27 HCOs had a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 infection. Patients in the COVID group were more likely to be of Hispanic/Latino ethnicity (P < 0.0001). A total of 78 patients died during the study period. After propensity matching, COVID-19 exposure was associated with a higher odds of 3-month mortality (OR: 3.22; CI: 1.56, 6.62). The survival probability at the end of 3 months was 94.4% for the COVID group compared with 98.6% for the no COVID group (p<0.0001). Exposure to COVID-19 was also associated with a higher odds of KT failure (OR: 1.50; CI: 1.01, 2.20) during the study period. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding KT rejection during the study period.

Conclusion

During the study period, among the patients who received kidney transplant in 2020, those who contracted COVID-19 infection were more likely to be Hispanic/Latino, had higher mortality, were more likely to have KT failure and have less survival probability. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding KT rejection.