Published online Nov 18, 2021. doi: 10.5500/wjt.v11.i11.480
Peer-review started: March 31, 2021
First decision: July 29, 2021
Revised: August 5, 2021
Accepted: October 31, 2021
Article in press: October 31, 2021
Published online: November 18, 2021
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can result in clinically significant multi-system disease including involvement in the kidney. The underlying histopathological processes were unknown at the start of the pandemic. As case reports and series have been published describing the under
To provide an overview of the current literature on the renal histopathological features and mechanistic insights described in association with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection.
A systematic review was performed by conducting a literature search in the following websites-‘PubMed’, ‘Web of Science’, ‘Embase’ and ‘Medline-ProQuest’ with the following search terms-“COVID-19 AND kidney biopsy”, “COVID-19 AND renal biopsy”, “SARS-CoV-2 AND kidney biopsy” and “SARS-CoV-2 AND renal biopsy”. We have included published data up until February 15, 2021, which includes kidney biopsies (native, transplant and postmortem) from patients with COVID-19. Data on clinical presentation, histopathological features, management and outcome was extracted from the reported studies.
The total number of biopsies reported on here is 288, of which 189 are postmor
This report has clinical relevance as certain renal pathologies have specific management, with the implication that kidney biopsy in the setting of renal disease and COVID-19 should be an early consideration, dependent upon the clinical presentation.
Core Tip: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affects multiple organ systems, including the kidneys resulting in acute kidney injury. Multiple pathologies and di