Clinical Features and Short-term Outcomes of Elderly Patients With COVID-19

Li, Ping; Chen, Lulu; Liu, Zheming; Pan, Jinghui; Zhou, Dingyi; Wang, Hui; Gong, Hongyun; Fu, Zhenmin; Song, Qibin; Min, Qian; Ruan, Shasha; Xu, Tangpeng; Cheng, Fan; Li, Xiangpan

Abstract Background The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a global public health emergency. Methods 204 elderly patients (≥60 years old) diagnosed with COVID-19 in Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from January 31st to February 20th, 2020 were included in this study. Clinical endpoint was in-hospital death. Results Of the 204 patients, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were the most common coexisting conditions. 76 patients died in the hospital. Multivariate analysis showed that dyspnea (hazards ratio (HR) 2.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.414 to 3.517;p < 0.001), older age (HR 1.1, 95% CI 1.070 to 1.123; p < 0.001), neutrophilia (HR 4.4, 95% CI 1.310 to 15.061; p = 0.017) and elevated ultrasensitive cardiac troponin I (HR 3.9, 95% CI 1.471 to 10.433; p = 0.006) were independently associated with death. Conclusion Although so far the overall mortality of COVID-19 is relatively low, the mortality of elderly patients is much higher. Early diagnosis and supportive care are of great importance for the elderly patients of COVID-19.