• Quan Yao Ho, Rehena Sultana, Tung Lin Lee, Sobhana Thangaraju, Terence Kee, and Htay Htay.
• Department of Renal Medicine, Singapore General Hospital; SingHealth Duke-NUS Transplant Centre, Singapore.
• Singap Med J. 2023 Oct 1; 64 (10): 593602593-602.

IntroductionThe clinical presentation and outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) have not been well studied.MethodsWe performed a meta-analysis to examine the presenting features, outcomes and the effect of treatment on outcomes of KTRs with COVID-19. Database search was performed up to 5 September 2020 through PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus and CENTRAL.ResultsOverall, 23 studies (1,373 patients) were included in the review and meta-analysis. The most common presenting symptoms included fever (74.0%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 65.3-81.1), cough (63.3%, 95% CI 56.5-69.6) and dyspnoea (47.5%, 95% CI 39.6-55.6). Pooled rates of mortality and critical illness were 21.1% (95% CI 15.3-28.4) and 27.7% (95% CI 21.5-34.8), respectively. Acute kidney injury occurred in 38.9% (95% CI 30.6-48.1) and dialysis was required in 12.4% (95% CI 8.3-18.0) of the cases.ConclusionKidney transplant recipients with COVID-19 have a similar clinical presentation as the general population, but they have higher morbidity and mortality. It is uncertain whether high-dose corticosteroid or hydroxychloroquine reduces the risks of mortality in KTRs with COVID-19.

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