The COVID-19 pandemic changed healthcare worldwide. In the early stages of the crisis, many elective and non-essential surgeries were postponed, doctors’ offices limited their in-person visits, and many chronic kidney disease patients were left unseen. 

With a perceived decline in the number of patients initiating treatment for kidney failure, researchers at Brown University School of Public Health investigated the numbers and characteristics of these patients delaying treatment. Learn more about the study, what it found, and what it may mean.*

What They Did

Researchers gathered data from the Renal Management Information System Medical Evidence Form, a national census of all patients with kidney failure who initiate long-term dialysis or receive a preemptive kidney transplant. They analyzed the data for the period of March to June 2020 and compared it to corresponding dates in 2018 and 2019. Researchers focused specifically on the total numbers of patients receiving treatment and characteristics such as race/ethnicity. 

What They Found

Compared to the pre-COVID-19 years, March through June of 2020 saw significant decreases in patients with kidney failure:

• Receiving preemptive kidney transplants (2.1% pre-COVID-19 vs. 1.4% during COVID-19) 
• Initiating dialysis treatment (15.8% pre-COVID-19 vs. 13.4% during COVID-19)

Moreover, significant declines in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) during COVID-19 were seen in: 

• Non-Hispanic Black patients
• Patients residing in counties with the highest number of deaths from COVID-19, but not for patients residing in other counties

What It Means

“Treatment in the form of dialysis or a transplant is essential for the survival of people with chronic kidney disease,” lead research author Kevin Nguyen said. “Missed routine care could be potentially catastrophic. So understanding whether and how these initiations of treatment changed with respect to the pandemic is really important.”

The magnitude and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic is something the current healthcare field had never experienced before. While it was unexpected, the study’s findings should remind clinicians of the importance of maintaining continuity of treatment and improving care for people with CKD, especially for those in communities that saw significant declines in eGFR during the pandemic. 

*Fewer patients sought treatment for kidney failure in early months of COVID-19 pandemic. (2021, October 13). Brown University. https://www.brown.edu/news/2021-10-13/kidney