COVID-19 in kidney transplant recipients: A multicenter experience in Istanbul.

INTRODUCTION: Management of COVID-19 in kidney transplant recipients should include treatment of the infection, regulation of immunosuppression, and supportive therapy. However, there is no consensus on this issue yet. This study aimed to our experiences with kidney transplant recipients diagnosed with COVID-19. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Kidney transplant recipients diagnosed with COVID-19 from five major transplant centers in Istanbul, Turkey, were included in this retrospective cohort study. Patients were classified as having moderate or severe pneumonia for the analysis. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality. The secondary endpoints were acute kidney injury, the average length of hospital stay, admission to intensive care, and mechanical ventilation. RESULTS: Forty patients were reviewed retrospectively over a follow-up period of 32 days after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Cough, fever, and dyspnea were the most frequent symptoms in all patients. The frequency of previous induction and rejection therapy was significantly higher in the group with severe pneumonia compared to the moderate pneumonia group. None of the patients using cyclosporine A developed severe pneumonia. Five patients died during follow-up in the intensive care unit. None of the patients developed graft loss during follow-up. DISCUSSION: COVID-19 has been seen to more commonly cause moderate or severe pneumonia in kidney transplant recipients. Immunosuppression should be carefully reduced in these patients. Induction therapy with lymphocyte-depleting agents should be carefully avoided in kidney transplant recipients during the pandemic period.

Surveillance of hemodialysis related infections: a prospective multicenter study.

As in many countries, there is neither a surveillance system nor a study to reveal the hemodialysis (HD) related infection rates in Turkey. We aimed to investigate the infection rate among HD outpatients and implement CDC's surveillance system. A multicenter prospective surveillance study is performed to investigate the infection rate among HD patients. CDC National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) dialysis event (DE) protocol is adopted for definitions and reporting. During April 2016-April 2018, 9 centers reported data. A total of 199 DEs reported in 10,035 patient-months, and the overall DE rate was 1.98 per 100 patient-months. Risk of blood culture positivity is found to be 17.6 times higher when hemodialysis was through a tunneled catheter than through an arteriovenous fistula. DE rate was significantly lower in patients educated about the care of their vascular access site. Staphylococcus aureus was the most causative microorganism among mortal patients. Outcomes of DEs were hospitalization (73%), loss of vascular access (18.2%), and death (7.7%). This first surveillance study revealed the baseline status of HD related infections in Turkey and showed that CDC National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) DE surveillance system can be easily implemented even in a high workload dialysis unit and be adopted as a nationwide DE surveillance program.

Is peritoneal dialysis a therapeutic option for polycystic kidney disease? 15 years' experience in a single center.

BACKGROUND: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is often avoided for patients with polycystic kidney disease (PKD) because of increased risk of complications and technique failure due to limited intra-abdominal space. In this study, we have aimed to determine clinical outcomes, patient and technique survivals in patients with PKD performing PD and to define whether PD is appropriate for these patients. METHODS: Totally 99 patients: 33 with PKD and 66 with diseases other than PKD were included in this retrospective study. All patients started PD between 2001 and 2015 years and have been matched by time of PD therapy initiation. Socio-demographic characteristics, clinical data and complications during the specified period were evaluated. The factors associated with mortality and patient and technique survival were investigated for all patients. RESULTS: The two groups were similar in terms of demographic, baseline and last visit clinical and laboratory parameters, additional systemic diseases, with the exception of higher pretreatment and last visit serum albumin levels in PKD patients (P=0.03 and 0.01 respectively) and younger age of non-PKD patients (P=0.002). Incidence of peritonitis and catheter exit-site/tunnel infections were similar among the two groups (P=0.26 and 0.12 respectively). The two groups were similar in terms of leak and hernia developments (P=0.07 and 0.57, respectively). By the end of the study period; in PKD group, 10 patients had been transferred to HD and had kidney transplantation and only 6 patients had died. In non-PKD group, 19 patients had been transferred to HD, 11 patients had kidney transplantation and 23 patients had died. Mortality was lower in PKD group (log rank=0.034). The two groups were similar regarding death and HD transfer reasons (P=0.35 and 0.36 respectively). The technique survival rates were similar among the two groups (log rank=0.37). CONCLUSIONS: Peritoneal dialysis may be a suitable renal replacement therapy option for PKD patients. PKD is not an additional risk factor in patients treated by PD. Mortality is similar with non-diabetic PD patients. Peritoneal dialysis in PKD patients is associated with a similar overall rate of technique survival, incidences of hernia, leak and infectious complications as in non-PKD patients.