Palliative care for patients with chronic kidney disease and severe COVID-19 in Brazil: a retrospective study in a quaternary hospital.

Background: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have many special needs in the areas of symptom management, advanced care planning, and end-of-life care. We aimed to evaluate the palliative care (PC) provided to patients with CKD admitted with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at the Clinics Hospital of the University of Sao Paulo Faculty of Medicine during the first wave of the pandemic.

Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted in a quaternary hospital. Patients assisted by the PC team with CKD in 2020 were selected according to a protocol for identifying patient at an elevated risk of death who require PC support. The clinical and demographic characteristics, as well as the outcomes, were assessed using electronic records.

Results: A total of 217 patients with CKD were included in the study, of whom 44.2% were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Patients with CKD had an increased relative risk (RR) of death [1.31, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.12-1.53] but were not assisted by the PC team to a higher degree. Eighty patients with CKD (83.3%) died without being assisted by the PC team. Dialysis treatment and CKD grades were not significantly associated with PC assistance.

Conclusions: Although patients with CKD experienced higher mortality rates, they did not receive PC at a significantly greater frequency and many died without receiving adequate end-of-life care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.