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Review
. 2021 Sep 25;10(5):264-274.
doi: 10.5501/wjv.v10.i5.264.

COVID-19 in dialysis units: A comprehensive review

Gabriel Martins Nogueira  1 , Moisés Santana Oliveira  1 , Ana Flávia Moura  2 , Constança Margarida Sampaio Cruz  2 , José A Moura-Neto  3
Affiliations
Review

COVID-19 in dialysis units: A comprehensive review

Gabriel Martins Nogueira et al. World J Virol. .

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been challenging for healthcare professionals worldwide. One of the populations affected by the pandemic are patients on renal replacement therapy, as kidney disease is an independent risk factor for severe COVID-19 and maintenance dialysis (a life-sustaining therapy) cannot be interrupted in the vast majority of cases. Over the past months, several authors and medical societies have published recommendations and guidelines on the management of this population. This article is a comprehensive review regarding the measures to prevent, contain and deal with a COVID-19 pandemic in the dialysis setting. We recapitulate the epidemiology and pathophysiology of COVID-19 in kidney dysfunction and present the main recommendations concerning the screening of healthcare personnel, dialysis patients and visitors as well as measures to improve the safety of the dialysis facilities' environments. In addition to preventive measures, this article briefly describes actions directed towards management of an outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) within a dialysis facility, the management of complications in dialysis patients with COVID-19 and overall data regarding the management of children with kidney disease.

Keywords: COVID-19; Hemodialysis units, Hospital; Renal dialysis; Renal replacement therapy; SARS-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Conduct related to dialysis patients, stratified according to their risk or current status of being infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19: Coronavirus disease 2019; PCR: Polymerase chain reaction; PPE: Personal protective equipment.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Conduct in regard to visitors in a dialysis facility. COVID-19: Coronavirus disease 2019; PPE: Personal protective equipment.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Self-screening for healthcare personnel, stratified according to their risk or current status of being infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. COVID-19: Coronavirus disease 2019; HCP: Healthcare personnel; PCR: Polymerase chain reaction; PPE: Personal protective equipment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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