LAUSR

INTRODUCTION Renal involvement among pediatric patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ranges between 1.2% and 44%. Given the limited information available locally, the primary objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of renal involvement in our setting. OBJECTIVE MATERIAL AND METHODS POPULATION AND METHODS Cross-sectional study conducted in 13 Argentine sites between March and December 2020. Patients aged 1 month to 18 years hospitalized due to COVID-19 and with at least one measurement of serum creatinine and/or a urinalysis were included. Those with a known kidney disease were excluded. Renal involvement was defined as the presence of acute kidney injury (AKI), proteinuria, hematuria, leukocyturia and/or arterial hypertension (HTN). RESULTS Among 528 eligible medical records, 423 patients were included (55.0% were males; median age: 5.3 years). The clinical presentation was asymptomatic in 31%; mild, in 39.7%; moderate, in 23.9%; severe, in 1.2%; critical, in 0.7%; and 3.5% had multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Two patients (0.47%) died. The prevalence of renal involvement was 10.8% (95% confidence interval: 8.2-14.2); it was described as leukocyturia (16.9%), proteinuria (16.0%), hematuria (13.2%), HTN (3.7%), and AKI (2.3%). No patient required dialysis. Renal involvement was associated with severe forms of disease (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of renal involvement among pediatric patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 in 13 Argentine sites was 10.8%; severe forms of disease prevailed.