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March 11th. It is celebrated all over the world Day dedicated to kidney health, a fundamental organ although too often forgotten.
Covid-19 can be particularly burdensome for those with failing kidneys. According to a research conducted by the Italian Society of Nephrology (SIN), in the second wave of Covid-19 the number of deaths doubles compared to the first wave, with a mortality rate of around 22%, an average almost tenfold compared to the population general.
What the research says
Chronic kidney disease it is one of the most widespread pathologies, so much so that it affects about 7-10% of the population. and appears to be growing considering the aging of the population. Of course, not all paintings are equally serious. In Italy, patients at the third stage or at a more severe stage are almost 4.5 million and patients on dialysis about 50,000; the same number of patients with kidney transplants in nephrological clinical follow-up.
The analysis conducted by nephrologists examined patients with advanced kidney disease, on home dialysis, hemodialysis and after a transplant. The data show that in this second wave the total number of Covid-19 positives has quadrupled: the number of positive hemodialysis patients goes from 3.4% in the first wave to 11.6% in the second wave of the Sars-Cov-2 pandemic; the number of patients on peritoneal and home dialysis went from 1.3% to 6.8%; there is also a peak for transplant recipients who are infected, which pass from 0.8% to 5%.
Patients on home and peritoneal dialysis and even more transplant recipients were exposed in a much more significant way than in the first wave, but proportionally less than those on hospital hemodialysis, who have to go to hospital centers several times a week and spend several hours in environments. common, both while waiting and during dialysis treatment.
Compared to the data of the first wave, in which mortality reached a third of patients, in the period between October 2020 and February 2021 more paucisymptomatic and, in some cases, asymptomatic cases were intercepted, thanks to the timely and regular predisposition of swabs on patients, doctors and healthcare professionals.
This is a fact that partly explains the decline observed. “It is clear – underlines Piergiorgio Messa, President of SIN and Director of the Complex Operational Unit of Nephrology, Dialysis and Renal Transplant – Polyclinic of Milan and Full Professor of Nephrology at the University of Milan – that the relationship between positive renal patients (dialysis and transplanted) and the number of deaths remains very high, almost unchanged, confirming the need to intervene with a vaccine plan that considers them as a priority as an emblematic category of fragile subjects due to exposure to infection, comorbidity and consequent high lethality “.
How to defend yourself
SIN recommends that people with chronic kidney disease follow 5 simple but effective rules:
- Get vaccinated as soon as possible
- Maintain the precautions already in place relating to spacing and safety measures (mask and frequent hand washing)
- Avoid self-administration and taking medications not recommended and / or prescribed by the doctor
- Maintain contact with the nephrologist
- Maintain a correct lifestyle (healthy diet, no smoking, yes to physical activity)
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