Crystals in Urine Microscopy in a COVID-19 Patient: A Case Report

Abstract

Due to novelty of Coronavirus disease, the understanding of its pathology, clinical outcomes, prognostic factors, and treatment is still in its nascent stage. Kidney dysfunction is reported in many patients. We report a finding of an uncommon form of urine crystals in a RT-PCR confirmed case of COVID-19 patient. RT-PCR confirmed case of COVID-19 patient, no clinical history of renal calculi reported until day 7 of the treatment. Treatment mainly comprised of favipiravir, vitamin C and zinc. On seventh day of treatment the patient became asymptomatic but the crystals were observed in the urine. The loading dose of favipiravir in COVID-19 positive patient considered as the reason for the urine crystals. In view of nephrotoxic nature of the disease as well as the drugs used in its therapy, it is important to look for subtle signs as well as inexpensive tests which can give vital information, to pick these complications early. Although this observation was made on a single patient, contributions from multiple centres can help understand this further, with keen observation on urine microscopy of COVID-19 patients. Keywords: Crystals; Favipiravir; COVID-19; Urine microscopy; Urinary crystals