Washington, December 20: COVID-19 patients with end-stage renal disease are 11 times more likely to be admitted to hospital than those without any, a recent study has revealed. An analysis of Geisinger's electronic health records has revealed chronic kidney disease to be the leading risk factor for hospitalisation because of the COVID-19. The results were published in the journal, PLOS ONE.

A team of Geisinger researchers studied the health records of 12,971 individuals who were tested for the COVID-19 within the Geisinger system between March 7 and May 19. Of this group, 1,604 were COVID-positive, and 354 required hospitalisation. The team analysed the records for the association between specific clinical conditions, including kidney, cardiovascular, respiratory, and metabolic conditions, and COVID-19 hospitalisation. New Variant of Coronavirus Detected in UK, Netherlands and Belgium Suspend Flights From Britain; All You Need to Know.

Overall, chronic kidney disease was most strongly associated with hospitalisation, and COVID-19 patients with end-stage renal disease were 11 times more likely to be admitted to hospital than patients without kidney disease, the team found.

"Previous studies have identified a variety of health conditions associated with an increased risk of COVID-related hospitalisation, including diabetes, heart failure, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease. What is significant here is the magnitude of the kidney disease-related risk," said Alex Chang, MD, Geisinger nephrologist and co-director of Geisinger's Kidney Health Research Institute. "These findings highlight the need to prevent COVID-19-related illness in patients with kidney disease and other high-risk conditions."

How underlying medical conditions increase the risk of COVID-19-related complications is not yet fully clear; however, the study suggests that the physiological stress caused by an excessive inflammatory response to COVID-19 infection could destabilise organs already weakened by chronic disease, or that organ injury from the virus could act as a "second hit" to these organs.

"Consistent with this hypothesis, kidney and heart are among the tissues with the highest expression of ACE2, a SARS-CoV-2 receptor," the team wrote.

While the sample size studied was relatively small, Geisinger's resources as an integrated health system allowed for a comprehensive analysis of available data.

"Our team used a novel approach made possible by our extensive electronic health records, unique demographic data, and integrated health system," said Tooraj Mirshahi, associate professor at Geisinger's Department of Molecular and Functional Genomics.

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