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Clinical Characteristics of Hospitalized Individuals Dying With COVID-19 by Age Group in Italy

2020; Oxford University Press; Volume: 75; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1093/gerona/glaa146

1758-535X

Luigi Palmieri, Nicola Vanacore, Chiara Donfrancesco, Cinzia Lo Noce, Marco Canevelli, Ornella Punzo, Valeria Raparelli, Patrizio Pezzotti, Flavia Riccardo, Antonio Bella, Massimo Fabiani, Fortunato D’Ancona, Luana Vaianella, Dorina Tiple, Elisa Colaizzo, Katie Palmer, Giovanni Rezza, Andrea Piccioli, Silvio Brusaferro, Graziano Onder, Luigi Palmieri, Xanthi Andrianou, Pierfrancesco Barbariol, Antonino Bella, Stefania Bellino, Eva Benelli, Luigi Bertinato, Stefano Boros, Gianfranco Brambilla, Giovanni Calcagnini, Marco Canevelli, Maria Rita Castrucci, Federica Censi, Alessandra Ciervo, Elisa Colaizzo, Fortunato D’Ancona, Martina Del Manso, Chiara Donfrancesco, Massimo Fabiani, Francesco Facchiano, Antonietta Filia, Marco Floridia, Fabio Galati, Marina Giuliano, Tiziana Grisetti, Yllka Kodra, Martin Langer, Ilaria Lega, Cinzia Lo Noce, Pietro Maiozzi, Fiorella Malchiodi‐Albedi, Valerio Manno, Margherita Martini, Alberto Mateo‐Urdiales, Eugenio Mattei, Claudia Meduri, Paola Meli, Giada Minelli, Manuela Nebuloni, Lorenza Nisticò, Marino Nonis, Graziano Onder, Lucia Palmisano, Nicola Petrosillo, Patrizio Pezzotti, Flavia Pricci, Ornella Punzo, Vincenzo Puro, Valeria Raparelli, Giovanni Rezza, Flavia Riccardo, Maria Cristina Rota, Paolo Salerno, Debora Serra, Andrea Siddu, Paola Stefanelli, Manuela Tamburo De Bella, Dorina Tiple, Brigid Unim, Luana Vaianella, Nicola Vanacore, Monica Vichi, Emanuele Rocco Villani, Amerigo Zona, Silvio Brusaferro,

Long-Term Effects of COVID-19

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.