Urgent Care Patients with Kidney Disease and COVID-19 Could Be in for a Tough Time

Obesity, hypertension, lung ailments, and any number of conditions have been linked to increased risk for complications in patients with COVID-19. While chronic kidney disease has not often gotten much attention, a new study published by PLOS ON indicates that CKD could actually be the leading risk factor for hospitalization in infected patients. The paper reflects analysis of the electronic health records of 12,971 individuals, 1,604 of whom had CKD; of those, 354 (22%) required hospitalization. Patients with pre-existing end-stage renal disease were most at risk—11 times more likely to require hospitalization than those with no kidney disease. The authors concluded that the results underscore the importance of preventing infection in patients with CKD, and of vigilance for severe disease in that population.