COVID-19 and the kidney

Mohamed Hassanein; Yeshwanter Radhakrishnan; John Sedor; Tushar Vachharajani; Vidula T. Vachharajani; Joshua Augustine; Sevag Demirjian; George Thomas

doi:10.3949/ccjm.87a.20072

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 is primarily considered a respiratory illness, but the kidney may be one of the targets of SARS-CoV-2 infection, since the virus enters cells through the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor, which is found in abundance in the kidney. Information on kidney involvement in COVID-19 is limited but is evolving rapidly. This article discusses the pathogenesis of acute kidney injury (AKI) in COVID-19, its optimal management, and the impact of COVID-19 on patients with chronic kidney disease, patients with end-stage kidney disease on dialysis, and kidney transplant recipients.

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Mohamed Hassanein, MD

Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, Cleveland Clinic

Yeshwanter Radhakrishnan, MD

Cleveland Clinic Akron General, Akron, OH

John Sedor, MD

Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, Cleveland Clinic; Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

Tushar Vachharajani, MD

Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, Cleveland Clinic; Clinical Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

Vidula T. Vachharajani, MD

Department of Critical Care Medicine, Respiratory Institute, Cleveland Clinic; Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

Joshua Augustine, MD

Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, Cleveland Clinic; Associate Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

Sevag Demirjian, MD

Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, Cleveland Clinic; Assistant Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

George Thomas, MD⇑

Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute, Cleveland Clinic; Assistant Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

Address:
George Thomas, MD, Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, Q7, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44195; thomasg3{at}ccf.org