Coronavirus infection and kidney disease: a review of current and emerging evidence

In November 2009, an outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus (later named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first noticed in the city of Wuhan in China, rapidly spreading to assume pandemic proportions within a short period of time. The disease was subsequently designated as coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). The death toll has continued to rise with grave health and socio-economic implications for individuals, families and nations globally. Although the respiratory tract is primarily involved in this disease, kidney affectation is increasingly reported and has been shown to worsen the prognosis of the disease. Current evidence shows that kidney disease is not uncommon in patients with coronavirus infection especially in those with COVID-19 and may arise from a constellation of factors such as hypotension, sepsis, rhabdomyolysis, multi-organ failure, use of nephrotoxic medications as well as direct infection in some cases. Factors associated with acute kidney injury in coronavirus infected patients may include elderly age, male sex, presence of co-morbidities as well as pre-existing chronic kidney disease and end stage renal disease. Although, there is presently no effective treatment for COVID-19, there is room for conservative management, extracorporeal therapy and renal replacement therapy. The aim of this review was to integrate current and emerging evidences on renal disease resulting from COVID-19 and the previous epidemics of coronavirus infections including the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) caused by other strains of the virus.