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The American Society of Nephrology has launched several initiatives to provide guidance on COVID-19 as it relates to the care of patients with kidney disease.
Washington, DC -- The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is especially threatening to patients with kidney diseases and to their caregivers. The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) has launched several initiatives to provide accurate and updated COVID-19-related information on an ongoing basis to clinicians who care for patients with kidney diseases.
As an initial step, ASN, in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has established a COVID-19 Response Team. Nephrologists, CDC physicians, infection preventionists, and dialysis nurses meet weekly to acquire new information and share it with the community, inform best practices, and adapt to the changing environment as the pandemic spreads.
ASN's publications--JASN, CJASN, and Kidney360--will provide valid, peer reviewed information on COVID-19 as quickly as possible, with collections updated with new articles as soon as they are published. Recent examples include the following:
In a CJASN article on COVID-19, experts brought together the evidence-based guidance of the CDC and the practical judgment of clinicians to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 in dialysis facilities, offering information on patient screening, placement, and instructions; use of face masks and other personal protective equipment by staff; disinfection practices; and communication with health departments. (https://doi.org/10.2215/CJN.03340320)
A Kidney360 article offers the perspective of 2 U.S. nephrologists on managing patients undergoing hemodialysis who have suspected or confirmed COVID-19, noting the steps and precautions taken for patients presenting to dialysis clinics or emergency departments. (https://doi.org/10.34067/KID.0001452020)
Another CJASN article provides insights from clinicians in Washington state whose patient--who had been undergoing outpatient hemodialysis--was the first to die from COVID-19 in the United States. A series of policies and procedures were immediately put in place to protect other patients and staff. (https://doi.org/10.2215/CJN.03540320)
The effects of certain antihypertension drugs on the virus that causes COVID-19 is the topic of another CJASN article. The authors stress that these medications are critical to the health of many patients, who should continue to take them as prescribed until definitive studies can determine whether they inhibit the virus or make people more susceptible to infection. The authors have created a website that is being updated in real time to provide a reliable source of information (http://www.nephjc.com/news/covidace2). (https://doi.org/10.2215/CJN.03530320)