Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 May 1;35(5):737-741.
doi: 10.1093/ndt/gfaa069.

Recommendations for the prevention, mitigation and containment of the emerging SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic in haemodialysis centres

Carlo Basile  1   2 , Christian Combe  3 , Francesco Pizzarelli  4 , Adrian Covic  5   6 , Andrew Davenport  7 , Mehmet Kanbay  8 , Dimitrios Kirmizis  9 , Daniel Schneditz  10 , Frank van der Sande  11 , Sandip Mitra  12
Affiliations

Recommendations for the prevention, mitigation and containment of the emerging SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic in haemodialysis centres

Carlo Basile et al. Nephrol Dial Transplant. .

Abstract

COVID-19, a disease caused by a novel coronavirus, is a major global human threat that has turned into a pandemic. This novel coronavirus has specifically high morbidity in the elderly and in comorbid populations. Uraemic patients on dialysis combine an intrinsic fragility and a very frequent burden of comorbidities with a specific setting in which many patients are repeatedly treated in the same area (haemodialysis centres). Moreover, if infected, the intensity of dialysis requiring specialized resources and staff is further complicated by requirements for isolation, control and prevention, putting healthcare systems under exceptional additional strain. Therefore, all measures to slow if not to eradicate the pandemic and to control unmanageably high incidence rates must be taken very seriously. The aim of the present review of the European Dialysis (EUDIAL) Working Group of ERA-EDTA is to provide recommendations for the prevention, mitigation and containment in haemodialysis centres of the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. The management of patients on dialysis affected by COVID-19 must be carried out according to strict protocols to minimize the risk for other patients and personnel taking care of these patients. Measures of prevention, protection, screening, isolation and distribution have been shown to be efficient in similar settings. They are essential in the management of the pandemic and should be taken in the early stages of the disease.

Keywords: COVID-19; coronavirus; end-stage kidney disease; haemodialysis; pandemic.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Graphical Abstract
Graphical Abstract
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Zhu N, Zhang D, Wang W. et al. A novel coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China, 2019. N Engl J Med 2020; 382: 727–733 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mahase E. Coronavirus COVID-19 has killed more people than SARS and MERS combined, despite lower case fatality rate. BMJ 2020; 368: m641. - PubMed
    1. Huang C, Wang Y, Li X. et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Lancet 2020; 395: 497–506 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Naicker S, Yang CW, Hwang SJ. et al. The novel coronavirus 2019 epidemic and kidneys. Kidney Int 2020; doi:10.1016/j.kint.2020.03.001 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Syed-Ahmed M, Narayanan M.. Immune dysfunction and risk of infection in chronic kidney disease. Adv Chronic Kidney Dis 2019; 26: 8–15 - PubMed