Clinical Characteristics Predicting Mortality Risk in Hospitalized Geriatric Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia: a Retrospective Study

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Geriatric patients with COVID-19 are more likely to progress to severe disease, and they are at increased risk of hospitalization and mortality. In this study we aimed to investigate the risk factors for predicting mortality in geriatric patients with COVID 19 by reviewing the clinical data of survivors and non-survivors.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of 189 geriatric patients with COVID- 19 pneumonia who were hospitalized in pulmonology clinic, in Duzce University, Medical Faculty Hospital between March 2020 and January 2021 in Turkey.

Results: In the study, 60.3% (n = 114) of the patients were male and the median age was 75. 80.4% (n = 152) of the patients were discharged. The presence of cardiovascular disease, chronic renal failure, malignancy, increased number of comorbidities, complaints of anorexia, no fever, decreased oxygen saturation value, increased pulse rate, high values of maximum (max) D-dimer, aspartate aminotransferase, urea, creatinine, troponin, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), max LDH, ferritin and max ferritin, C-reactive protein (CRP), max CRP, procalcitonin, max procalcitonin, potassium values and low albumin values, complications as bacterial infection, cardiac disease, acute respiratory distress syndrome, liver function tests failure, arrhythmia and shock, the need for corticosteroid and pulse corticosteroid therapy increased the mortality. According to multiple logistic regression model, the de-velopment of cardiac disease, acute respiratory distress syndrome, bacterial infection, the need for pulse steroids, and the max ferritin value increased the risk of mortality by between 1.001 and 28.715 times.

Conclusions: Both clinical and laboratory parameters predicting mortality in geriatric patients with COVID-19 pneumonia should be monitored very carefully. Complications that develop should be evaluated and multidisciplinary and necessary treatments should be initiated without delay.