Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Renal transplant recipients are at higher risk of COVID-19 infection due to chronic comorbidities and immunocompromised state. Limited information is available in Nepal regarding this infection among organ transplantation patients. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 601 patients to assess the impact of COVID-19 among patients who underwent renal transplant surgery at Shahid Dharmabhakta National Transplant Center (SDNTC), Bhaktapur. All the renal transplant patients who were COVID-19 confirmed through PCR tests were included. A self-developed, semi-structured telephone interview schedule was utilized for data collection. RESULTS: Among the patients who responded to our telephone calls, more than a quarter (37.9%) were diagnosed as COVID-19 positive. The mortality rate was relatively low at 5.7% overall, but significantly higher at 14.9% among those with COVID-19 positive. Hypertension and diabetes mellitus were the top two comorbid conditions. The common reporting symptom was fever followed by cough. Interestingly, 23.7% of COVID-19-positive patients were hospitalized, and among them, 72.2% were admitted for more than 2 days. Notably, 65.8% of the COVID-19 patients were not vaccinated and among vaccinated ones, only 17.1% of patients were fully vaccinated. The most common vaccine was Vero Cell. There was sixfold increased chance of COVID-19 infection among unvaccinated patients than vaccinated ones. However, there was no significant association between mortality and age, sex, occupation and vaccination status. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the heightened vulnerability of renal transplant recipients to COVID-19 as significant portion of the studied patients tested positive for COVID-19, with a notable mortality rate among these patients. The findings underscore the critical role of vaccination, as a considerable number of the COVID-19 positive patients were unvaccinated.
DOI: 10.1002/iid3.70187
Language: English
Subfield: Infectious Diseases
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,300
OpenAlex ID: W4409570291