Racial, sociodemographic, and dialysis-related factors predict COVID-19 infection risk among long-term dialysis patients<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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TUESDAY, Feb. 16, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Patients undergoing long-term dialysis who become infected with SARS-CoV-2 have a high COVID-19 case fatality rate, according to a study published online Feb. 4 in CMAJ<\/em>, the journal of the Canadian Medical Association.<\/p>\n Leena Taji, M.P.H., from the Ontario Renal Network at the University of Toronto, and colleagues examined the incidence, risk factors, and outcomes for COVID-19 (March 12 to Aug. 20, 2020) among patients undergoing long-term dialysis in Ontario, Canada.<\/p>\n The researchers found that during the study period, 1.5 percent of 12,501 dialysis patients were diagnosed with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. Of those diagnosed with COVID-19, nearly two-thirds (62.6 percent) were admitted to the hospital, and the case fatality rate was 28.3 percent. In-center hemodialysis versus home dialysis (odds ratio [OR], 2.54), living in a long-term care residence (OR, 7.67), living in the greater Toronto area (OR, 3.27), Black ethnicity (OR, 3.05), Indian subcontinent ethnicity (OR, 1.70), other non-White ethnicities (OR, 2.03), and lower-income quintiles (OR, 1.82) were all significant predictors of infection.<\/p>\n “Special attention should be paid to addressing risk factors for infection, and these patients should be prioritized for vaccination,” the authors write.<\/p>\n One author disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n