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Published on: November 10, 2023
Clinical characteristics and outcomes in elderly with coronavirus disease 2019 in Beijing, China: a retrospective
Wei Zhang1, Wei Hou1, Ronghua Jin1
1Department of Critical Care Medicine of Liver Disease, Beijing YouAn Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 8 YouAn Men Wai Street, Beijing, 100069, Fengtai, China.
Insights
Older adults with COVID-19 often have more complications and critical illness. Age is a significant factor in COVID-19 mortality, highlighting the need for focused care on comorbidities and complications in elderly patients.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Gerontology
- Public Health
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has disproportionately affected vulnerable populations.
- Older adults are at higher risk for severe illness and adverse outcomes from COVID-19.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of elderly patients diagnosed with COVID-19.
- To identify specific complications and mortality risk factors in this demographic.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 91 COVID-19 patients, with a focus on 27 elderly individuals (≥65 years).
- Data collected on demographics, comorbidities, clinical presentation, treatment, complications, and outcomes.
Main Results:
- Elderly COVID-19 patients presented with more comorbidities, critical illness, and complications like pleural effusion, secondary infections, and kidney damage.
- Mortality rate in the elderly cohort was 18.52%, with age significantly associated with mortality (OR 0.82).
- Common treatments included symptomatic and respiratory support; 22.22% required invasive ventilation.
Conclusions:
- Elderly patients with COVID-19 exhibit distinct clinical features and poorer outcomes compared to younger individuals.
- Management strategies should prioritize addressing comorbidities and complications in older adults to improve survival rates.
- Age is a critical independent risk factor for COVID-19 mortality.
Abstract:
A novel human coronavirus, known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has caused a global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this study, we aimed to explore the clinical characteristics and outcomes in older patients with COVID-19. Ninety-one patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection were included in the study, 27 of which (29.67%) were elderly. The median age of these 27 patients was 74.9 years (interquartile range 68-82; range 65-94 years), and 15 (55.56%) were female. Elderly with COVID-19 in Beijing (China) were more likely to have underlying comorbidities and more frequently tended to have critical illness and suffer from more complications. The main treatments of the elderly consisted of symptomatic and respiratory support. The most frequent complications in the elderly were pleural effusion [10, (37.04%)], secondary infection [7, (25.93%)], and kidney damage [7, (25.93%)]. Six (22.22%) of the 27 elderly patients received invasive ventilation (three of them switched to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation). As of March 7, 20 (74.07%) of the 27 elderly patients were discharged, two (7.41%) were still hospitalized, and five died; the mortality in the elderly was 18.52%. Age was associated with the mortality in patients with COVID-19 (OR 0.82; 95% CI 0.70-0.97; P = 0.019). Therefore, more attention should be paid to the treatment of comorbidities and complications in elderly patients.
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