Collapsing Glomerulopathy in a Patient With COVID-19

INTRODUCTION C oronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the official name given by the World Health Organization to the disease caused by the novel coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease has rapidly spread around the world after its initial recognition in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Pulmonary involvement with diffuse alveolar damage and respiratory failure has been the major disease focus in patients with COVID-19; however, recent reports have highlighted the fact that kidney injury is also relatively common in this infection and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. In a large case series from China, 15.5% of patients show evidence of kidney injury on presentation with 3.2% developing acute kidney injury during hospitalization. Hematuria and proteinuria are also common, being present in 27% and 44% of patients, respectively. We present the clinical and renal biopsy findings in an African American patient with COVID19. This case raises the question of whether people of African descent with high-risk APOL1 genotype (presence of 2 risk alleles) could be at increased risk of kidney disease in the setting of COVID-19.