NKF, ASN ask for COVID-19 data for patients with kidney disease
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The National Kidney Foundation and the American Society of Nephrology are asking CMS for detailed information on the outcomes of patients with kidney disease who have contracted COVID-19.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a disproportionately high toll on patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and transplant recipients,” the organizations wrote in a letter to CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), patients with CKD, patients on dialysis and patients with immunocompromised status due to solid organ transplant are at a significantly increased risk of developing severe SARS-CoV2 infection-related morbidity and mortality.
“Therefore, it is imperative that we develop better preventive strategies and policies to protect these vulnerable populations, which can be facilitated through a comprehensive understanding of the epidemiology of COVID-19 in these vulnerable patient populations. To achieve this, the community needs access to accurate, complete, and more up-to-date data than are currently available.” The letter was signed by NKF CEO Kevin Longino, NKF President Holly Mattix Kramer, MD, MPH, ASN Executive Vice President Tod Ibrahim and ASN president Anupam Agarwal, MD, FASN.
The two organizations asked CMS to make COVID-19 infection rates, hospitalizations and death rates among patients with ESKD publicly available. The groups said the information would help dialysis staff determine how the COVID-19 virus is spreading – and whether approaches like cohorting and dialyzing patients at home is helpful in reducing the risk of COVID-19.
“Comprehensively understanding the spread of COVID-19 among symptomatic, asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic dialysis patients has been challenging because CMS has not thus far made data on COVID-19 infection rates among in-center and home dialysis patients available to researchers, patients or practitioners,” the organization leaders wrote.
With detailed information on the impact of COVID-19 on the dialysis population, “patients and their families will be able to make informed choices about where to receive dialysis care, and dialysis care teams can tailor prevention and response efforts to maintain safety within their facilities,” according to the letter. “Further, these data can help researchers and academicians to identify potential areas for practice improvement and policy changes, while also allowing clinicians to identify interventions that were effective at minimizing COVID-19 transmission within and across these settings.”
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