COVID-19 and kidney: risk, damage and sequelae

HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 23 (ACN) The provincial assessment assemblies of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), bound to begin in the near future, will devote their sessions to evaluate the membership’s performance and their decisive role vis-à-vis the current economic and ideological challenges and in the work in vulnerable communities and neighborhoods, without overlooking the political process of discussion within the grassroots organizations.

The report to be presented pays particular attention to the fact that chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the most prevalent and lethal factor among severe COVID-19 cases, hence the need to implement preventive care and follow-up measures to treat renal sequelae.

COVID-19 and Kidney: Risk, Damage and Sequelae is the title of a multidisciplinary research conducted by the Dr. Abelardo Buch López Nephrology Institute, presented at the Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez’s meeting with scientists and experts involved in the fight against the pandemic.

According to the study, “the renal lesions caused by the disease and made worse by persistent chronic inflammation are likely to progress slowly and asymptomatically towards advanced stages of CKD. (…) Estimates have it that millions of people around the world may end up needing dialysis and/or kidney transplantation.”

CKD is a health problem in Cuba that affects 10% of the adult population (around 875,000 people), so preventive care is of paramount importance with a view to early detection and treatment, given that COVID-19 has served to prepare the Cuban health system to cope with this issue.
The President praised the said research and stressed the need to develop a multidisciplinary and cross-sectional response.

“Cuban engineering can make a great contribution in this regard in terms of technical equipment to treat chronic kidney disease,” he remarked. “We have made some progress, but we must make the most of new technologies such as 3D printing and other trailblazing equipment.”