Clinical Characteristics of Hospitalized Individuals Dying With COVID-19 by Age Group in Italy.
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci
; 75(9): 1796-1800, 2020 09 16.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-548664
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Aim of the present study is to describe characteristics of COVID-19-related deaths and to compare the clinical phenotype and course of COVID-19-related deaths occurring in adults (<65 years) and older adults (≥65 years).METHOD:
Medical charts of 3,032 patients dying with COVID-19 in Italy (368 aged < 65 years and 2,664 aged ≥65 years) were revised to extract information on demographics, preexisting comorbidities, and in-hospital complications leading to death.RESULTS:
Older adults (≥65 years) presented with a higher number of comorbidities compared to those aged <65 years (3.3 ± 1.9 vs 2.5 ± 1.8, p < .001). Prevalence of ischemic heart disease, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, stroke, hypertension, dementia, COPD, and chronic renal failure was higher in older patients (≥65 years), while obesity, chronic liver disease, and HIV infection were more common in younger adults (<65 years); 10.9% of younger patients (<65 years) had no comorbidities, compared to 3.2% of older patients (≥65 years). The younger adults had a higher rate of non-respiratory complications than older patients, including acute renal failure (30.0% vs 20.6%), acute cardiac injury (13.5% vs 10.3%), and superinfections (30.9% vs 9.8%).CONCLUSIONS:
Individuals dying with COVID-19 present with high levels of comorbidities, irrespective of age group, but a small proportion of deaths occur in healthy adults with no preexisting conditions. Non-respiratory complications are common, suggesting that the treatment of respiratory conditions needs to be combined with strategies to prevent and mitigate the effects of non-respiratory complications.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Cardiovascular Diseases
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Dementia
/
Pandemics
/
Kidney Failure, Chronic
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Topics:
Long Covid
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci
Journal subject:
Geriatrics
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Gerona
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