Kidney function decline observed in patients post COVID-19 infection

December 30, 2024

Study design: This cohort study utilized data from the Stockholm Creatinine Measurements (SCREAM) Project, spanning February 1, 2018, to January 1, 2022, in Stockholm, Sweden. It included hospitalized and nonhospitalized adults with ≥1 eGFR measurement in the two years prior to a COVID-19 positive test or pneumonia diagnosis. The study compared kidney function decline after COVID-19/pneumonia using linear regression models.

Results: The study included 134,565 individuals in the COVID-19 cohort and 35,987 in the pneumonia cohort. The median baseline eGFR was higher in the COVID-19 cohort (94 mL/min/1.73m^2) compared with the pneumonia cohort (79 mL/min/1.73m^2). After adjusting for covariates, both groups showed accelerated eGFR decline, with a greater decline after COVID-19 (3.4% annually) compared with pneumonia (2.3% annually). The decline was more pronounced in those hospitalized for COVID-19 (5.4%).

Impact on clinical practice: The findings suggest that patients recovering from COVID-19, especially those hospitalized, should undergo close monitoring of kidney function.

Source:

Mahalingasivam V, et al. (2024, December 2). Kidney Function Decline After COVID-19 Infection. JAMA Netw Open. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39724377/