Transplant infectious disease : an official journal of the Transplantation Society
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With COVID-19 pandemic, concerns about kidney transplant recipients are rising. However, the incidence, clinical course, outcome, and predictive factors of disease severity are obscured. ⋯ Low rate of admission in transplant recipients specially in the very first years of transplantation might be due to protective effects of immunosuppressive agents against cytokine storm or modification of immunity function. We suggest evaluation of T-cell number, function, and cytokine profile as a guide to manage COVID-19 mainly in patients with higher risk of mortality.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
COVID-19 in solid organ transplant recipients: Dynamics of disease progression and inflammatory markers in ICU and non-ICU admitted patients.
COVID-19 infection varies in severity from minimal symptoms to critical illness associated with a hyperinflammatory response. Data on disease progression in immunosuppressed solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients are limited. ⋯ Our data indicate that SOT is associated with high rate of hospitalization, ICU admission, and death from COVID-19 compared to data in the general population of patients with COVID-19. Despite reduction in immunosuppression, suspected rejection was rare. The clinical course and trend of laboratory biomarkers is biphasic with a later, pronounced peak in inflammatory markers seen in those admitted to an ICU. CRP is a useful marker to monitor disease progression in SOT.