Clinical features of hemodialysis patients with COVID-19: a single-center retrospective study on 32 patients

We retrospectively analyzed the data of 32 hemodialysis patients with COVID-19 to clarify the epidemiological characteristics of this special population.

The data of 32 hemodialysis patients with COVID-19, including epidemiological, demographic, clinical, laboratory, and radiological, were collected from the Blood Purification Department of Wuhan Fourth Hospital from February 3 to 16, 2020.

Of the 32 patients, 23 were male, and the median age was 58 years; the median dialysis vintage was 33 months. Two groups were divided according to the patient’s primary renal disease: group 1 (16 patients with diabetic nephropathy), group 2 (12 patients with primary glomerulonephritis, 2 with obstructive kidney disease, 1 with hypertensive renal damage, and 1 with polycystic kidney). No significant differences were observed between the two groups in epidemiological characteristics, blood cell counts, and radiological performance. Hemodialysis patients are susceptible to COVID-19 at all ages, and patients with diabetes may be a high-risk population (50%). Common symptoms included fever (15 cases), cough (21 cases), and fatigue (7 cases). The blood lymphocyte count decreased in 84.6% of the patients (median: 0.765 × 10⁹/L). Chest CT revealed ground-glass-like lesions in 18 cases, unilateral lung patchiness in 7 cases, bilateral lung patchiness in 7 cases, and pleural effusion in 2 cases.

Only 46.875% of the hemodialysis patients with COVID-19 had fever in the early stage; and diabetics may be the most susceptible population. A decrease in blood lymphocyte count and ground-glass opacity on chest CT scan is beneficial in identifying the high-risk population.