Data on post-COVID-19 infection in renal transplant recipients (RTR) are scarce. We investigated the rate of hospitalization, reasons for hospital admission, and mortality rate among RTR who survived acute COVID-19.

A multi-center retrospective observational cohort study measured hospital admission and death to 180 days after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection in 308 adult patients. The median age was 57 years; 64.9% were male. All patients had at least one comorbidity, and 26.3% had diabetes. Data on the post-COVID-19 course was available for 267 patients, and 49 of them (15,9%) required hospitalization after recovery from the acute infection. The most common indications included pneumonia (24.5%) and renal allograft dysfunction (22,4%); 7 (14,3%) had sepsis and 52 had thrombotic events. A median duration of the hospital stay was 12 days. Six patients (2.2%) died due to multiorgan failure3, respiratory insufficiency2 and urosepsis1. The strongest predictor for hospitalization after acute COVID-19 was hospitalization for the initial acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, while better allograft function decreased the probability of hospitalization.

In conclusion, delayed consequences of acute COVID-19 are highly prevalent, and the health care systems should be prepared to respond to the needs of RTR suffering from post-COVID-19 complications.

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