Evaluation of hospitalized youngest-old, middle-old and oldest-old COVID-19 patients in terms of mortality and risk factors

Introduction: In the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, severe disease is predominantly seen in advanced-aged patients. In our study, we evaluated hospitalized youngest-old (65–74 years), middle-old (75–84 years) and oldest-old (≥85 years) COVID-19 patients in terms of mortality and risk factors. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included hospitalized COVID-19 patients aged 65 years and older. Demographic characteristics, such as age, gender and comorbid conditions, baseline blood oxygen saturation levels, the necessity of oxygen treatments (nasal cannula,oxygen mask/reservoir oxygen mask), condition of the patients(mild, moderate, severe), baseline laboratory findings as C-reactive protein , white blood cell counts, thrombocyte counts, lymphocyte counts, D-dimer, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and ferritin levels, pulmonary involvement on computerized tomography, the increase in oxygen requirements, the status of going to the intensive care unit and the status of receiving corticosteroids were recorded. Factors associated with mortality were analyzed. Results: A total of 399 geriatric COVID-19 patients were included in this study: 214(53.6%) were female and 185 (46.4%) were male. The mean age of the patients was 75±7.87(min:65–max:96). In our study, the mortality rate was found to be higher in the middle-old and oldest-old groups than in the youngest-old group (p=0.01). Other factors associated with mortality were as follows: lower baseline oxygen saturation levels (p=0.03), necessity of higher oxygen treatment (p<0.01), higher pulmonary involvement on computerized tomography (p<0.01), corticosteroid use (p<0.01) and having Alzheimer’s disease (p=0.03). Conclusion: Our findings emphasize that older patients are more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection and require special attention. Keywords: Geriatrics; SARS-CoV-2; Mortality.