Recovered Covid-19 patients urged to go for regular kidney checkups
Patients who have been cured of Covid-19 should receive kidney checkups regularly, as they are at risk of their kidney losing efficiency, Dr Anutra Chittinandana, president of the Royal College of Physicians of Thailand, posted on his Facebook on Sunday.
“A study published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology on kidney outcomes in long Covid-19 patients has compared 89,216 recovered Covid-19 patients with 1,637,467 people who have never been infected,” he said in the post.
“After six months, the study found that the rates of Acute Kidney Injury, End Stage Kidney Disease and Major Adverse Kidney Events have increased among recovered Covid-19 patients, especially those who had been hospitalised and stayed in ICU.
“The study also found that the kidney’s estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate [eGFR] among post-acute Covid-19 patients could decrease up to 50 per cent,” he added. “Therefore, those who have recovered from Covid-19 should receive regular kidney checkup before the eGFR drops to a dangerous level.”