Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37433606›Full record

ArticleNephrology, dialysis, transplantation : official publication of the European Dialysis and Transplant Association - European Renal Association2023

Results of the first nationwide cohort study of outcomes in dialysis and kidney transplant patients before and after vaccination for COVID-19.

Julia Wijkström, Aurora Caldinelli, Annette Bruchfeld, Alexandra Nowak, Angelica Artborg, Maria Stendahl, Mårten Segelmark, Bengt Lindholm, Rino Bellocco, Helena Rydell and 1 more

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nephrology, dialysis, transplantation : official publication of the European Dialysis and Transplant Association - European Renal Association, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.5field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Long COVID and the kidney.Nature reviews. Nephrology · 2025
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Julia WijkströmDepartment of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0001-6183-5878
Aurora CaldinelliDepartment of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm, Sweden.
Annette BruchfeldDepartment of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-9752-9941
Alexandra NowakDepartment of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm, Sweden.
Angelica ArtborgDepartment of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm, Sweden.
Maria StendahlDepartment of Internal Medicine, Ryhov Hospital, Jönköping, Sweden.
Mårten SegelmarkSwedish Renal Register, Jönköping, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-1221-0772
Bengt LindholmDepartment of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Rino BelloccoUniversity of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, Milano, Italy.
Helena RydellDepartment of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Marie EvansDepartment of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0001-8650-5795
Karolinska University Hospital · SEKarolinska Institutet · SELinköping University · SELund University · SERyhov Hospital Jönköping · SE

Funding

European UnionGelin FoundationNjurfondenUniversity of Milano-BicoccaWestman Foundation
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPatients on kidney replacement therapy (KRT) have been identified as a vulnerable group during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study reports the outcomes of COVID-19 in KRT patients in Sweden, a country where patients on KRT were prioritized early in the vaccination campaign.

methodsPatients on KRT between January 2019 and December 2021 in the Swedish Renal Registry were included. Data were linked to national healthcare registries. The primary outcome was monthly all-cause mortality over 3 years of follow-up. The secondary outcomes were monthly COVID-19-related deaths and hospitalizations. The results were compared with the general population using standardized mortality ratios. The difference in risk for COVID-19-related outcomes between dialysis and kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) was assessed in multivariable logistic regression models before and after vaccinations started.

resultsOn 1 January 2020, there were 4097 patients on dialysis (median age 70 years) and 5905 KTRs (median age 58 years). Between March 2020 and February 2021, mean all-cause mortality rates increased by 10% (from 720 to 804 deaths) and 22% (from 158 to 206 deaths) in dialysis and KTRs, respectively, compared with the same period in 2019. After vaccinations started, all-cause mortality rates during the third wave (April 2021) returned to pre-COVID-19 mortality rates among dialysis patients, while mortality rates remained increased among transplant recipients. Dialysis patients had a higher risk for COVID-19 hospitalizations and death before vaccinations started {adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.1 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.7-2.5]} but a lower risk after vaccination [aOR 0.5 (95% CI 0.4-0.7)] compared with KTRs.

conclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden resulted in increased mortality and hospitalization rates among KRT patients. After vaccinations started, a distinct reduction in hospitalization and mortality rates was observed among dialysis patients, but not in KTRs. Early and prioritized vaccinations of KRT patients in Sweden probably saved many lives.

Indexed as

COVID-19Kidney TransplantationAgedCohort StudiesHumansMiddle AgedPandemicsRenal DialysisCOVID-19hospitalizationmortalityobservational studyrenal replacement therapy

Identifiers

PMID37433606
PMCPMC10615630
OpenAlexW4383873863

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.