National response to the COVID-19 Omicron variant crisis in the ambulatory hemodialysis service in the state of Qatar

Abstract EN

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant worldwide impact since its emergence in 2019.

End-stage kidney disease patients have been among the most vulnerable population affected and have a higher risk of acquiring infection and developing more severe disease.

We have encountered three major COVID-19 waves in Qatar and they have required different strategies to overcome.

The most recent wave was due to the Omicron variant characterized by higher transmissibility.

The monthly incidence of COVID-19 infection during the Omicron wave in patients with end-stage renal disease peaked at 256 patients compared to 35 and 39 patients during the first and second waves, respectively.

In addition, more than one-third of our dialysis staff became infected during this wave.

Unlike the previous two waves, COVID-19 due to the Omicron variant was less severe with only 5% of hemodialysis patients requiring admission to the intensive care unit compared to 25% during the previous waves.

The Omicron variant wave resulted in a crisis in our country due to the high number of non-hospitalized COVID-19 hemodialysis patients and the severe staff shortage.

Several measures were taken to overcome the crisis, such as designating one facility to dialyze all COVID-19 ambulatory patients, reducing dialysis sessions to 3 hours, and introducing a fourth dialysis shift.

This article describes the challenges we faced in the ambulatory hemodialysis service during the Omicron wave and the measures taken in the COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 designated facilities to combat the crisis.