#3792 covid-19 infection among haemodialysis patients - experience from a hong kong cohort

Abstract Background and Aims Many haemodialysis patients were infected by COVID-19 during a severe wave of outbreak due to the Omicron variant in Hong Kong in 2022, which had a great impact on the hospital haemodialysis service. To better prepare for future outbreaks, the patient characteristics and outcomes were examined in this study. Method This was a retrospective cohort study of all haemodialysis patients infected with COVID-19 from February to April 2022 in our hospital. The infection rates of in-centre and home haemodialysis were analysed. The mortality rate and the rate of moderate to severe disease (as defined by requiring 2L of oxygen or above) were recorded. Factors affecting mortality and disease severity were analysed using Fisher's exact test and independent t test. Results There were ninety-nine haemodialysis patients infected with COVID-19 during the study period (Table 1). The infection rate of in-centre haemodialysis patients was 98/232 (42.2%) compared with 1/19 (5.3%) of home haemodialysis patients. The mortality rate was 7.1%, and the rate of moderate to severe disease was 10.1%. A higher Charlson Comorbidity Index was identified as the only significant factor associated with mortality (6.7 ± 3.4 vs. 4.9 ± 2.0) and disease severity (6.5 ± 3.0 vs. 4.9 ± 2.0). Age, gender, presence of diabetes mellitus and vaccination status did not correlate with the outcome in this cohort. Conclusion Home haemodialysis had the benefit of a lower infection rate during the COVID-19 outbreak. A higher burden of comorbidities increased the risk of mortality and the severity of COVID-19. Close monitoring is warranted in these group of haemodialysis patients.