Has Covid-19 reduced the management of end-stage kidney disease in 2020?

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has been associated with a drop in diagnoses of several diseases in 2020, including cancers. In this letter addressed to the editor, the Groupement des Néphrologues Francophones de Belgique (GNFB), assessed whether there was a similar effect concerning end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

Data of patients with ESRD form 25 of the 26 centers constituting the GNFB register were collected. In conclusion, the year 2020 was marked by an 8% drop in the incidence of overall treatments for ESRD. A particularly marked decline in outpatient dialysis initiation programs (PD and HDD). In addition, the interruption of transplant programs in academic centers as well as the closure of ambulatory patient clinics in a majority of hospitals was associated with a delay in nephrological management.