COVID-19 and kidneys A follow-up

In coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, acute tubular injury is the most frequently documented kidney disease. According to the current knowledge, its cause is assumed to be multifactorial. Other kidney diseases observed in non-severely ill COVID-19 patients are thrombotic microangiopathy, necrotizing glomerulonephritis, primary podocytopathy and interstitial nephritis. Even after a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination, necrotizing glomerulonephritis and other kidney diseases were observed. It is recommended that a renal biopsy be performed in COVID-19 patients with elevated creatinine, proteinuria, and/or hematuria to rule out a variety of other renal disorders. Both diseases (during a SARS-CoV-2 infection and after vaccination) probably share common features that act as triggers when the patient is preconditioned for a renal disease. The activation of the complement system and the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NET) could play a role in the pathogenesis. As the first report on autopsies carried out on COVID-19 patients throughout Germany showed, the autopsy plays a central role for a better understanding of this (relatively) new disease.