LINFECTION A COVID 19 CHEZ LES HEMODIALYSES CHRONIQUES A BRAZZAVILLE

Background: Due to their immunosuppression to varying degrees and significant comorbidity, patients on chronic dialysis have an increased risk of developing severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2) at Covid 19. We wanted to describe the incidence, risk factors and outcomes of Covid 19 infection in these patients in Brazzaville.

Patients and methods: The study was carried out in a private hemodialysis center in Brazzaville (Congo). The data was collected retrospectively. Included were chronic hemodialysis patients who tested positive for Covid-19 between April 1, 2020 and November 30, 2021. We assessed disease characteristics, mortality, risk factors for infection and mortality from multivariate logistic regression analyses.

Results: During the study period, 14 out of 46 hemodialysis patients (30.4%) were diagnosed with Covid-19 infection. Their average age was 42.3 ± 8.7 years with a male predominance (sex-ratio = 2.5). Among them, 13 (92.8%) presented with respiratory distress requiring hospitalization and the mortality rate was 42.8% only one was vaccinated against covid-19 (Vaccine from the Johnson Johnson laboratory). Significant predictors associated with infection included HIV (OR= 12.4 95% CI 17.1–43.7) and diabetes mellitus (OR= 9.7 95% CI 17.1– 43.7), the main risk factor for death is the suspension of hemodialysis sessions (OR= 14 95% CI 16.9–68.7).

Conclusion: Patients on chronic hemodialysis are at increased risk of SRASCoV-2 infection and mortality from the Covid-19 coronavirus disease. It will be necessary to work to vaccinate these patients as a priority and to maintain the regularity of their weekly sessions by creating an intra-hospital emergency hemodialysis unit.