Research Finds Worrying New Symptom in Coronavirus Patients Leading to Kidney Injury
When the coronavirus pandemic made its way over to the USA earlier this year, New York City became the epicenter of the virus. Since then there have been 214K confirmed cases with over 17,100 deaths.
A new study now reveals that many of those who were infected with the virus have also started experiencing one particular medical complication: kidney failure. This complication could probably be a new coronavirus warning sign and is being experienced at an alarming rate in New York City in comparison to other cities and countries.
1The new coronavirus warning sign
A new single-center study published in the British Medical Journal by researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian disclosed that patients suffering with COVID-19 in the hospitals were at a greater risk of having kidney complications. One possible reason for developing kidney complications could be due to having pre-existing conditions. Underlying health conditions increase the chance of kidney failure.
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2Around 34% of COVID-19 patients developed kidney injury
The electronic health records of the first 1,000 COVID-19 patients treated at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center between March 1 and April 5, 2020, were examined by researchers. They discovered that 1/3 of the 34% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients developed acute kidney injury.
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3Cases of kidney failure due to the coronavirus can be critical enough for dialysis
Abnormal blood work along with high levels of protein in the urine is a major indication of kidney damage. In patients with COVID-19 who have been hospitalized this can sometimes be severe enough to require dialysis.
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4New York City recorded the highest number of cases with this condition
The numbers in New York City were practically double that of the 15% of patients that were recently reported to be facing the same problems with their kidneys in China. In fact, this was even much higher than the 19% as per a recent report from Washing State. 80% of the coronavirus patients who ended up in critical conditions and were admitted to the ICU developed an acute kidney injury.
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5Higher rates of pre-existing conditions in New York City
Researchers found that high rates of preexisting conditions were more in New York City patients than in any other population. 60% of the population of the city was afflicted with conditions like hypertension while 37% were with diabetes. It was also noted that among the hospitalized patients, more than half were male with a median age of 63.
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