Early outcomes of outpatient management of kidney transplant recipients with coronavirus disease 2019

Abstract

Background and objectives Outcomes of kidney transplant recipients diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 as outpatients have not been described. Design, setting, participants, & measurements We obtained clinical data for 41 consecutive outpatient kidney transplant recipients with known or suspected coronavirus disease 2019. Chi-squared and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used to compare characteristics of patients who required hospitalization versus those who did not. Results Of 41 patients, 22 (54%) had confirmed coronavirus disease 2019, and 19 (46%) were suspected cases. Patients most commonly reported fever (80%), cough (56%), and dyspnea (39%). At the end of follow-up, 13 patients (32%) required hospitalization a median of 8 days (range, 1–16) after symptom onset, and 23 (56%) had outpatient symptom resolution a median of 12 days (4–23) after onset. Patients who required hospitalization were more likely to have reported dyspnea (77% versus 21%, P50.003) and had higher baseline creatinine (median, 2.0 versus 1.3 mg/dl, P50.02), but there were no other differences between groups. Conclusions In an early cohort of outpatient kidney transplant recipients with known or suspected coronavirus disease 2019, many had symptomatic resolution without requiring hospitalization.