Results
A total of 8 post renal transplant patients with COVID-19 were admitted
to our intensive care unit during the study period. Five of the eight
patients were female. The most common comorbid condition among all our
patients was hypertension (all 8 patients). Four of our patients were
type-II diabetic. Another 4 patients had a previous history of
respiratory disease (chronic), including asthma or chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD), while coronary artery disease and
hyperlipidemia was present in 4 and 1 patient, respectively (Table 1).
Five patients had a history of a renal transplant from living related
donors, while 3 patients had received their kidneys from cadaveric
donors. Post renal transplant period ranged from 4 to 16 years with
a mean of 8.6 years (Table 2).
Septic markers, including COVID-19 severity markers, were significantly
elevated (c-reactive protein, ferritin, d-Dimer, and fibrinogen). Mean
APACHE score as 13.88 with a range of 6-20 (Table 2). All patients had
been taking immunosuppressant medications and steroids at the time of
infection with the virus. Secondary bacterial infection occurred in 3
patients, 3 patients required invasive ventilatory support, and 3
patients received renal replacement therapy, including hemodialysis,
after developing acute kidney injury (Table 3). Mean mechanical
ventilation days in the 3 intubated patients were 20.19 with a range of
14 to 25 days (Table 3). Four patients required vasopressors to maintain
their hemodynamics. One patient died while staying in the ICU giving a
mortality of 12.5% in our patient series. (Table 3)