Abstract

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a fatal complication of the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) which causes COVID-19 disease. Here, we performed a scoping review and meta-analysis including clinical studies on patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection with data on AKI assessment and characteristics, and the overall prevalence of AKI was estimated using a random-effects model. We identified 21 articles which passed the search criteria. All were quantitative observational studies which used a cross-sectional, retrospective, case report, or cohort methodology. This showed that aging, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, previous chronic disease, and other comorbidities were risk factors of AKI. Although the prevalence of proteinuria, hematuria, and increased serum creatinine was reported for up to 60 of the patients with COVID-19, the overall prevalence of AKI was estimated to be 8. We conclude that although approximately two-thirds of patients with COVID-19 had symptoms of kidney damage, most of these did not meet the diagnostic criteria for AKI. Further studies should be performed to validate biomarkers for improved AKI diagnosis in COVID-19 patients and new treatment options are required to reduce the rate of mortality.