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Case Reports
. 2020 Jul 1;49(4):523-524.
doi: 10.1093/ageing/afaa068.

Atypical presentation of COVID-19 in a frail older person

Hui Sian Tay  1 , Rowan Harwood  1   2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Atypical presentation of COVID-19 in a frail older person

Hui Sian Tay et al. Age Ageing. .

Abstract

Common symptoms of pandemic coronavirus disease (COVID-19) include fever and cough. We describe a 94-year-old man with well-controlled schizoaffective disorder, who presented with non-specific and atypical symptoms: delirium, low-grade pyrexia and abdominal pain. He was given antibiotics for infection of unknown source, subsequently refined to treatment for community-acquired pneumonia. Despite active treatment, he deteriorated with oxygen desaturation and tachypnoea. A repeat chest X-ray showed widespread opacification. A postmortem throat swab identified COVID-19 infection. He was treated in three wards over 5 days with no infection control precautions. This has implications for the screening, assessment and isolation of frail older people to COVID-specific clinical facilities and highlights the potential for spread among healthcare professionals and other patients.

Keywords: COVID-19; atypical presentation; older people; pandemic; pneumonia.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
CXR showing right upper and lower zone airspace opacification and small bilateral effusion.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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