Is chronic kidney disease, a predictor of in-hospital mortality in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients?

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an important comorbidity in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID‑19) patients considering its high prevalence. We aimed to figure out the relationship between CKD and COVID‑19 mortality in this study.

In total, 116 CKD patients (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] lower than 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 ) and 147 control subjects confirmed with COVID‑19 were studied. Data regarding demographics, sign and symptoms, laboratory findings, and chest computed tomography were collected. Association between CKD and in‑hospital mortality were analyzed using logistic regression models adjusted for confounders.

Mortality rate wassignificantly higherinCKD than non‑CKD (30.17 vs 4.76, P< 0.001) COVID‑19 patients. Multivariate logistic regression showed that CKD was significantly correlated with in‑hospital mortality in the total sample (Odds ratio (OR) = 8.64, confidence interval (CI): 3.67–20.35) and gender subgroups (females: OR = 4.77, CI: 1.38–16.40, males: OR = 13.43, CI: 3.85–46.87) (P < 0.05) of COVID‑19 patients in the crude model. Whereas, the correlation did not remain significant in the fully adjusted model in the total sample (OR = 1.70, CI: 0.35–8.19) and gender subgroups (females: OR = 1.07 CI: 0.06–19.82, males: OR = 0.87, CI: 0.07–10.33) (P > 0.05) of COVID‑19 patients.

This study suggested an independent association between CKD and in‑hospital mortality in COVID‑19 patients. Therefore, more intensive surveillance of COVID‑19 patients with CKD is to be warranted.