COVID-19 illness and treatment decrease bone mineral density of surviving hospitalized patients.

OBJECTIVE: The number patients surviving COVID-19 hospitalization is steadily increasing. Follow-up management for these patients relies on an understanding of the long-term effects of COVID-19. Specifically, there are insufficient data about the lasting effects of COVID-19 on bone health. We aim in this study to evaluate whether COVID-19 illness and treatment adversely affect the bone health of surviving patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We assessed the bone mineral density (BMD) of hospitalized COVID-19 patients at diagnosis and at follow-up visits. Using the chest computed tomography (CT) scans of patients that were obtained for clinical management at diagnosis and follow-up visits, BMD was retrospectively measured by quantitative CT. The effect of COVID-19 severity markers and treatment-related factors on BMD were also assessed. RESULTS: BMD decreased by a mean of 8.6% (± 10.5%) from diagnosis to follow-up. The follow-up visits occurred at a mean of 81 (± 48) days after hospital discharge. The BMD decrease was significantly greater than expected for age-related annual BMD loss. The osteoporosis ratio increased two-fold after hospitalization for COVID-19 because of this substantial bone loss. On multivariable linear regression, only severity of COVID-19 pneumonia on initial chest CT and total steroid dose were predictive of change in BMD after COVID-19 hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: Secondary osteoporosis may occur as a post-acute sequela of COVID-19. Therefore, the bone health status of patients surviving COVID-19 hospitalization should be monitored closely at follow-up visits, to facilitate the prevention and early treatment of osteoporosis complications.

Outcomes of Kidney Transplantations From the Same Deceased Donor to Two Different Recipients: A Single-Center Experience.

BACKGROUND: Kidney transplantation is the best treatment method for end-stage renal disease. Technically, left kidney transplantation is easier than right kidney, and the complication rates in the right are higher than the left kidney. We performed 28 kidney transplantations from 14 deceased donors between November 2010 and May 2016. Our aim was to share our outcomes and experiences about these 28 patients. METHODS: We performed 182 kidney transplantations between November 2010 and May 2016. Fifty-four kidney transplantations were performed from deceased donors. Thirty-two of these were performed from 16 of the same donors. These 32 recipients' data were collected and retrospectively analyzed. We excluded the transplantations from two same-donors to their four recipients in this study. The remaining 28 recipients were included in the study. RESULTS: The left and right kidney recipients' numbers were equal (14:14). The left kidney:right kidney rate was 11:3 in the first kidney transplantation recipient group; in the second kidney transplantation recipient group, the rate was 3:11. The difference was statistically significant (P = .002). We found no statistical differences for sex, mean age, and body mass index of recipients, total ischemic time of grafts, hospitalization times, creatinine levels at discharge time, and current ratio of postoperative complications of recipients (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS: There were no differences in the left or the right kidneys or in the first and the second kidney transplantations during the long follow-up period.