ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection in elderly patients is more aggressive and treatments have shown limited efficacy. Our objective is to describe the clinical course and to analyze the prognostic factors associated with a higher risk of mortality of a cohort of patients older than 80 years. In addition, we assess the efficacy of immunosuppressive treatments in this population. We analyzed the data from 163 patients older than 80 years admitted to our institution for COVID-19, during March and April 2020. A Lasso regression model and subsequent multivariate Cox regression were performed to select variables predictive of death. We evaluated the efficacy of immunomodulatory therapy in three cohorts using adjusted survival analysis. The mortality rate was 43%. The mean age was 85.2 years. The disease was considered severe in 76.1% of the cases. Lasso regression and multivariate Cox regression indicated that factors correlated with hospital mortality were: age (hazard ratio [HR] 1.12, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-1.22), alcohol consumption (HR 3.15, 95% CI: 1.27-7.84), CRP > 10 mg/dL (HR 2.67, 95% CI: 1.36-5.24), and oxygen support with Venturi Mask (HR 6.37, 95% CI: 2.18-18.62) or reservoir (HR 7.87, 95% CI: 3.37-18.38). Previous treatment with antiplatelets was the only protective factor (HR 0.47, 95% CI: 0.23-0.96). In the adjusted treatment efficacy analysis, we found benefit in the combined use of tocilizumab (TCZ) and corticosteroids (CS) (HR 0.09, 95% CI: 0.01-0.74) compared to standard treatment, with no benefit of CS alone (HR 0.95, 95% CI: 0.53-1.71). Hospitalized elderly patients suffer from a severe and often fatal form of COVID-19 disease. In this regard, several parameters might identify high-risk patients upon admission. Combined use of TCZ and CS could improve survival.
Subject(s)
Adrenal Cortex Hormones/administration & dosage , Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/administration & dosage , COVID-19 Drug Treatment , COVID-19/mortality , Aged, 80 and over , COVID-19/virology , Comorbidity , Drug Therapy, Combination , Female , Hospital Mortality , Hospitalization , Humans , Male , Prognosis , Retrospective Studies , SARS-CoV-2/drug effects , SARS-CoV-2/physiology , Spain/epidemiology , Survival AnalysisABSTRACT
During the first wave of the COVID�19 pandemic, a patient with anti-synthetase syndrome (ASS) was misdiagnosed as having bilateral severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pneumonia on admission. A comprehensive clinical evaluation would have led to the correct diagnosis earlier, as he had some data consistent with ASS on both physical examination and laboratory tests that were initially overlooked. In addition, a malignant lesion in the colon was found on screening for underlying malignancy. In this context, ASS has been considered a low-risk subgroup for cancer among idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. However, this should be interpreted cautiously and should not lead to neglect of adequate cancer screening adjusted for age, sex and other potential risk factors.