Physicians Weekly Patients experienced a greater annual decline in kidney function after COVID-19 infection compared with after pneumonia due to other infections, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.
Researchers found that the magnitude of accelerated kidney function decline was steepest in patients hospitalized for COVID-19.
“We, therefore, propose that people who were hospitalized for COVID-19 receive closer monitoring of kidney function to ensure prompt diagnosis and optimized management of chronic kidney disease to effectively prevent complications and further decline,” wrote corresponding author Viyaasan Mahalingasivam, MPhil, and colleagues.
Investigators assessed links between COVID-19 infection and long-term kidney function in light of known associations between COVID-19 and acute kidney injury. Nearly a third of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the researchers noted, have involved acute kidney injury.