Meeting of the Commission for Studying Current Issues of Medicine in Georgia

• July 9, 2021

The Presidium of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences hosted a regular meeting of the Commission for the Study of Topical Problems of Georgia’s Medicine, the theme of which was Covid-19 and kidney disease. The meeting was attended by members of the commission, representatives of professional associations and experts in the field. The first speaker, Dr. Nino Maghlakelidze of the I. Bokeria Referral Hospital at the JSC Medical Corporation EVEX, spoke about the course of Covid-19 in kidney replacement therapy, particularly in patients undergoing hemodialysis. The second report focused on renal transplant patients with Covid-19. The speaker, Avtandil Tataradze, Head of the Nephrology, Dialysis and Kidney Transplantation Department at the L. Managadze National Center of Urology, presented an analysis of the current Covid-19 in renal recipients who have stable transplant function. Clinical features of disease course in renal recipients were analyzed and the findings indicated that kidney transplant patients had an increased risk of COVID-19 infection. Complications include acute renal failure, however, in the vast majority of cases hemodialysis is not required; mortality from COVID-19 is lower in patients undergoing kidney transplantation than in patients on dialysis. The need for vaccination in renal recipients was emphasized.