Incidence and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infections in liver and kidney transplant recipients in the post-vaccination era: Real-life data from Denmark

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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 has been associated with a high risk of adverse outcomes in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients in the pre-vaccination era. In this retrospective cohort study, we examined the incidence and severity of COVID-19 in kidney and liver transplant recipients in Denmark in the post-vaccination era, from December 27, 2020, to December 27, 2021. We included 1428 SOT recipients with 143 cases of first-positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test. The cumulative incidence of first-positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test 1 year after initiation of vaccination was 10.4% (95% CI: 8.8–12.0), and the incidence was higher in kidney than in liver transplant recipients (11.6% [95% CI: 9.4–13.8] vs. 7.4% [95% CI: 5.1–9.8], p =.009). After the first-positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test, the hospitalization rate was 31.5% (95% CI: 23.9–39.1), and 30-day all-cause mortality was 3.7% (95% CI: 0.5–6.8). Hospitalization was lower in vaccinated than in unvaccinated SOT recipients (26.4% [95% CI: 18.1–34.6] vs. 48.5% [95% CI: 31.4–65.5], p =.011), as was mortality (1.8% [95% CI: 0.0–4.3] vs. 9.1% [95% CI: 0.0–18.9], p =.047). In conclusion, SOT recipients remain at high risk of adverse outcomes after SARS-CoV-2 infections, with a lower risk observed in vaccinated than in unvaccinated SOT recipients.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAmerican Journal of Transplantation
Volume22
Issue number11
Pages (from-to)2637-2650
Number of pages14
ISSN1600-6135
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. American Journal of Transplantation published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

    Research areas

  • clinical research/practice, infection and infectious agents – viral: SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19, infectious disease, patient survival, solid organ transplantation, vaccine

ID: 322280625