Acute kidney disease following COVID-19 vaccination: a single-center retrospective study

Chien-Chou Chen; Sung-Sen Yang; Yu-Juei Hsu; Chih-Chien Sung; Pauling Chu; Chia-Chao Wu; Shun-Neng Hsu; Han-En Wang; Ding-Jie Lee; Shih-Hua Lin

doi:10.3389/fmed.2023.1189243

Acute kidney disease following COVID-19 vaccination: a single-center retrospective study

Front Med (Lausanne). 2023 May 22:10:1189243. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1189243. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Affiliation

¹ Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.

Abstract

Background: Rare cases of de novo or relapsed kidney diseases associated with vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been increasingly reported. The aim of this study was to report the incidence, etiologies, and outcomes of acute kidney disease (AKD) following COVID-19 vaccination.

Methods: This retrospective study extracted cases from renal registry of a single medical center from 1 March 2021 to 30 April 2022, prior to the significant surge in cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 infection in Taiwan. Adult patients who developed AKD after COVID-19 vaccination were included. We utilized the Naranjo score as a causality assessment tool for adverse vaccination reactions and charts review by peer nephrologists to exclude other causes. The etiologies, characteristics, and outcomes of AKD were examined.

Results: Twenty-seven patients (aged 23 to 80 years) with AKD were identified from 1,897 vaccines (estimated rate of 13.6 per 1000 patient-years within the renal registry). A majority (77.8%) of vaccine received messenger RNA-based regimens. Their median (IQR) Naranjo score was 8 (6-9) points, while 14 of them (51.9%) had a definite probability (Naranjo score ≥ 9). The etiologies of AKD included glomerular disease (n = 16) consisting of seven IgA nephropathy, four anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies-associated glomerulonephritis (AAN), three membranous glomerulonephritis, two minimal change diseases, and chronic kidney disease (CKD) with acute deterioration (n = 11). Extra-renal manifestations were found in four patients. Over a median (IQR) follow-up period of 42 (36.5-49.5) weeks, six patients progressed to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD).

Conclusion: Besides glomerulonephritis (GN), the occurrence of AKD following COVID-19 vaccination may be more concerning in high-risk CKD patients receiving multiple doses. Patients with the development of de novo AAN, concurrent extra-renal manifestations, or pre-existing moderate to severe CKD may exhibit poorer kidney prognosis.

Keywords: COVID-19; Naranjo score; acute kidney disease (AKD); chronic kidney disease; glomerulonephritis (GN); vaccination.