Direct infection of the kidney by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has been proposed as a mechanism of AKI in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 enters the host cell via the angiotensin-converting enzyme II protein, which is expressed in renal tubular epithelial cells. Medications that inhibit the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAASi) have been postulated to upregulate expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme II and increase infectivity and organ dysfunction. The effect of RAASi use on AKI in COVID-19 is not known.
Click here to view the study, published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology by Michael Matheny and team.