Introduction:
Kidney transplant recipients may be at high risk of developing severe illness from COVID-19 due to chronic immunosuppression, comorbidities, and frequent contact with the health care system. In Paraguay, there is no data regarding the economic impact generated by the treatment in vaccinated and unvaccinated patients in kidney transplant recipients who have developed Sars Cov2 infection during the pandemic, which is why the proposed research is considered relevant. The objective of the research was to determine the economic cost in the treatment of kidney transplant patients with Sars Cov-2 infection during the year 2021.
Methods:
Due to the characteristics of the topic, a quantitative, descriptive, non-experimental and transversal approach was carried out; since the data obtained from the patients' medical records were presented with complete data regarding the auxiliary methods of diagnosis, diagnosis and treatment received. Taking place in the period from January to December 2021. The sample was made up of 61 patients, respecting confidentiality with respect to the patients' personal health information, maintaining their identity anonymously.
Results:
The male gender was predominant with 61% of the transplant patients. The average age of the patients who participated in the research was 50 years. (SD ± 13.8). Kidney transplant time 137.7 months (SD ± 99.6). The triple therapy composed of Tacrolimus, Mycophenolic Acid and Prednisone constituted the main therapeutic arsenal of immunosuppressants in the population studied. With respect to biochemical parameters, patients corresponding to the vaccinated population presented better creatinine, creatinine clearance and proteinuria parameters than those patients who developed the disease and were not immunized at the time of acquiring it. Ferritin and D-dimer were lower in the immunized population (p < 0.05). The hospitalization rate was 57% vs 35%, suspected rejection 6% vs 4% and mortality 39% vs 8%, being higher in the non-immunized population.
Conclusions:
In the pre-vaccine era, the costs of Sars Cov-2 infection were higher than the vaccinated population, being US$616,148 versus US$15,007.67. The difference is that the vaccinated population had a longer hospital stay, a requirement hemodialysis and admission to the intensive care unit. The unvaccinated population had a longer hospital stay of 57%, with an average of 6.94 ± 8.93 days versus the vaccinated population with a hospital stay of 35%, with an average of 2.84 ± 4.5 days. The population without vaccine had a greater requirement for the use of antibiotics, corresponding to 81%. Greater use of corticosteroids (56%) and anticoagulation with enoxaparin (47%), limiting the presentation of moderate to severe forms. The vaccinated population had a lower requirement for the use of antibiotics (40%), anti-flu (44%), remdesivir (16%), without requiring hemodialysis or admission to the intensive care unit. The increase in remdesivir in the vaccinated population would be related to more advanced knowledge, thanks to publications that emphasized the improvement of symptoms and, above all, a better prognosis for patients.
I have no potential conflict of interest to disclose.
I did not use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process.