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.
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.
Authors: Thomas H Brannagan; Michaela Auer-Grumbach; John L Berk; Chiara Briani; Vera Bril; Teresa Coelho; Thibaud Damy; Angela Dispenzieri; Brian M Drachman; Nowell Fine; Hanna K Gaggin; Morie Gertz; Julian D Gillmore; Esther Gonzalez; Mazen Hanna; David R Hurwitz; Sami L Khella; Mathew S Maurer; Jose Nativi-Nicolau; Kemi Olugemo; Luis F Quintana; Andrew M Rosen; Hartmut H Schmidt; Jacqueline Shehata; Marcia Waddington-Cruz; Carol Whelan; Frederick L Ruberg Journal: Orphanet J Rare Dis Date: 2021-05-06 Impact factor: 4.123
Authors: Amer S Alali; Abdulaziz O Alshehri; Ahmed Assiri; Shahd Khan; Munirah A Alkathiri; Omar A Almohammed; Waleed Badoghaish; Saeed M AlQahtani; Musaad A Alshammari; Mohamed Mohany; Faisal F Alamri; Yazed AlRuthia; Faleh Alqahtani Journal: Saudi Pharm J Date: 2021-06-19 Impact factor: 4.330
Authors: A M O'Hare; K Berry; V S Fan; K Crothers; M C Eastment; J A Dominitz; J A Shah; P Green; E Locke; G N Ioannou Journal: BMC Geriatr Date: 2021-07-06 Impact factor: 4.070
Authors: V Vijay Anand; G Arunkumar Yogaraj; S Priya; P Priya Raj; C Brinda Priyadharshini; P N Sridevi Journal: Clin Epidemiol Glob Health Date: 2021-06-30