New clinical and prognostic features discovered in solid organ recipients with COVID-19

Researchers from 12 Spanish hospitals participated with the aim of discovering the clinical and prognostic characteristics of solid organ recipients with COVID-19. The findings emphasize the need for strict preventive measures in the initial period after transplantation.

Elisa Cordero, doctor at Virgen del Rocío University Hospital, researcher at the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBiS) and professor at the Department of Medicine at the University of Seville, led a study involving researchers from 12 Spanish hospitals to to study the characteristics and facilitate the prognosis of solid organ transplant recipients with COVID-19.

The study provides a more precise description of the complications caused by Covid-19 in organ transplant recipients and provided useful clinical indicators for identifying the disease early. This makes it possible to determine therapeutic and care measures on the basis of an individual assessment of each patient. The study highlights the need to take preventive measures with recently transplanted patients to avoid any risk of Covid-19 infection.

This study found that SARS-CoV-2 infection is more severe in patients who have received a solid organ transplant, especially in the first months after transplantation. It is therefore very important to take strict precautionary measures. “

Dr. Elisa Cordero, Doctor at the Virgen del Rocío University Hospital, Researcher at the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBiS) and Professor at the Department of Medicine, University of Seville

The project received the support of the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII), Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, through the call for research projects on SARS-CoV-2 and Covid-19 (COV20 / 00370) and the ISCIII Clinical Research Support Platform.

The study in figures

A total of 210 patients with Covid-19 were analyzed, of which 140 (70.5%) were men with an average age of 63 years. He found that 90% of the patients suffered from pneumonia, with the most common symptoms being fever, cough, gastrointestinal upset and dyspnea.

Seventeen percent of patients had to be admitted to intensive care units and 5.7% suffered from graft dysfunction. The study found a mortality rate among the sample patients of 21.4%, or 45 of the 210 patients studied died. Some of the factors associated with the need to admit patients to intensive care or indeed mortality were advanced age, respiratory failure, decreased lymphocytes, and an elevated lactate dehydrogenase enzyme.