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The antibody response to COVID-19 among kidney transplant recipients who had PCR confirmed infection
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  • Mevlut Tamer Dincer,
  • Necmi Eren,
  • Ahmet Murt,
  • Nuriye Yildiz,
  • Seyda Gul Ozcan,
  • Metin Ergul,
  • Sibel Gokcay Bek,
  • Zeynep Atli,
  • Sinan Trabulus,
  • Erkan Dervisoglu,
  • Levent Doganay,
  • Nurhan Seyahi
Mevlut Tamer Dincer
Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine
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Necmi Eren
Kocaeli University School of Medicine
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Ahmet Murt
Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine
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Nuriye Yildiz
Kocaeli University School of Medicine
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Seyda Gul Ozcan
Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine
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Metin Ergul
Kocaeli University School of Medicine
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Sibel Gokcay Bek
Kocaeli University School of Medicine
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Zeynep Atli
Sinop University
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Sinan Trabulus
Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine
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Erkan Dervisoglu
Kocaeli University School of Medicine
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Levent Doganay
Umraniye Training and Research Hospital
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Nurhan Seyahi
Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine

Corresponding Author:nseyahi@yahoo.com

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Abstract

Introduction Data on antibody response following COVID-19 in kidney transplant recipients is scarce. We performed a cross-sectional study to investigate antibody response to COVID-19 among kidney transplant recipients. Design We recruited 46 kidney transplant recipients with RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 and 45 recipients without COVID-19 history. We also constructed two control groups (COVID-19 positive and negative) from a historical cohort of health care workers. We used age and sex-based propensity score matching to select eligible subjects to control groups. We measured SARS-Cov-2 IgG levels quantitatively using the Abbott ARCHITECT system. An antibody level above 1.4 S/C defined positivity. Results Transplant recipients with COVID-19 had a higher BMI, and COVID-19 history in a household member was more common than that of the transplant recipient without COVID-19. IgG seropositivity rate (69.6% vs 78.3%, p=0.238) and median IgG level (3.28 [IQR 0.80-5.85] vs 4.59 [1.61-6.06], p=0.499) were similar in COVID-19 positive transplant recipients and controls. There was a trend toward lower antibody levels in kidney transplant recipients associated with a longer duration between RT-PCR and antibody testing (r=-0.532, p<0.001). Conclusion At the early post-COVID-19 period, transplant recipients have an antibody response that is similar to controls. However, antibody levels and associated immunity should be closely observed with longer follow-up durations.