INTRODUCTION
In December 2019, a new strain of coronavirus was identified and officially named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [1]. Clinical presentations of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) can range asymptomatic infection, self-limited influenza like symptoms, and acute pneumonia to severe respiratory failure. Besides lungs, kidney involvement is also well defined [2].
Kidney involvement, defined both as urinary abnormalities and changes in kidney function, has been described among patients with Covid-19 and it might be present in up to 75% of cases [3].Because of the expression of the membrane-bound peptidase angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in tubular epithelia and podocytes and the known property of ACE2 as a facilitator of cell entry for SARS-CoV-2, it has been proposed that direct viral infection into the kidneys may account for some of the acute kidney injury (AKI) pathogenesis for patients with Covid-19 [4]. However, kidney involvement during Covid-19 disease may have a broad clinical spectrum, and mild kidney injury can easily go unnoticed.Several studies have found a significant association between AKI and death among Covid-19 infected patients Early detection of AKI would be beneficial to identify the patients to improve the clinical status of Covid-19 patients [4,5].
Urine analysis may be useful to predict the development of AKI and mortality in Covid-19 patients.Multiple observational studies have reported the presence of proteinuria and hematuria in Covid-19 patients [6-12]. However to date, there have been relatively few studies focussed on urinalysis parameters except hematuria and proteinuria in Covid-19 patients [6,9,11].
In this study, we aimed to investigate the urinalysisdataof Covid-19 patients on admission and to explore the value of urinalysis in the prediction of AKI and in-hospital mortality in patients with Covid-19.