Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Dec 16, 2022; 10(35): 12890-12898
Published online Dec 16, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i35.12890
Clinical features of elderly patients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China
Shuo Wei, Guang Chen, Xiao-Chun Ouyang, Yuan-Cheng Hong, Yun-Hu Pan
Shuo Wei, Department of Infectious Disease, Shengli Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou 350000, Fujian Province, China
Guang Chen, Yun-Hu Pan, Department of Respiratory Medicine, 907 Hospital of the Joint Logistics Team, Nanping 353000, Fujian Province, China
Guang Chen, Xiao-Chun Ouyang, Yuan-Cheng Hong, Yun-Hu Pan, No. 4 Infection Department Second Ward, Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital, Wuhan 430010, Hubei Province, China
Xiao-Chun Ouyang, Department of Respiratory Medicine, 908 Hospital of the Joint Logistics Team, Nanchang 330038, Jiangxi Province, China
Yuan-Cheng Hong, Department of Respiratory Medicine, 910 Hospital of the Joint Logistics Team, Quanzhou 362046, Fujian Province, China
Author contributions: Pan YH and Wei S conceived the structure of the manuscript and wrote the manuscript; Chen G contributed to data collection; Ouyang XC and Hong YC had roles in clinical management; all authors revised the manuscript and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the Key Research Project of Nanjing Military Area Command, No. 14ZD32; Nanping Natural Science Foundation, No. 2019J32; and Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province, No. 2021J01377.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Fujian Provincial Hospital Institutional Review Board (Approval No. K2020-03-044).
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yun-Hu Pan, MD, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Respiratory Medicine, 907 Hospital of the Joint Logistics Team, No. 99 Binjiang North Road, Nanping 353000, Fujian Province, China. 18750975908@163.com
Received: July 1, 2022
Peer-review started: July 1, 2022
First decision: September 5, 2022
Revised: September 13, 2022
Accepted: November 17, 2022
Article in press: November 17, 2022
Published online: December 16, 2022
Processing time: 165 Days and 18.1 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Elderly patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who have comorbidities, frailty or profound disabilities experience poor outcomes. We analyzed the clinical characteristics of elderly patients from Wuhan who had COVID-19 during the early stages of the pandemic.

AIM

To identify factors affecting the early mortality of elderly patients with COVID-19.

METHODS

The records of 234 patients who were 65-years-old or more and were hospitalized in Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital from February 4 to March 4, 2020 were reviewed. All patients had confirmed COVID-19 and the final date of follow-up was April 4, 2020.

RESULTS

There were 163 cases of mild disease (69.66%), 39 cases of severe disease (16.67%) and 32 cases of critical disease (13.68%). Twenty-nine patients died within 1 mo (12.40%), all of whom had critical disease. Surviving patients and deceased patients had no significant differences in age or chronic diseases. Overall, the most common symptoms were fever (65.4%), dry cough (57.3%), fatigue (47.4%) and shortness of breath (41%). The deceased patients had higher levels of multiple disease markers (C-reactive protein, D-dimer, lactate dehydrogenase, alanine amino transferase, aspartate aminotransferase, creatinine kinase and creatinine kinase-MB) and higher incidences of lymphocytopenia and hypoproteinemia.

CONCLUSION

This single-center study of elderly patients from Wuhan, China who were hospitalized with COVID-19 indicated that age and chronic diseases were not associated with mortality. Hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease were the most common comorbidities and the most common symptoms were fever, dry cough, fatigue and shortness of breath. Lymphocytopenia, increased levels of D-dimer and other markers indicative of damage to the heart, kidneys or liver were associated with an increased risk of death.

Keywords: Elderly; COVID-19; Chronic underlying diseases; Clinical features; Supportive treatment

Core Tip: The records of 234 patients who were 65-years-old or more and were hospitalized in Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital because of coronavirus disease 2019 from February 4 to March 4, 2020 were reviewed. The results indicated that age and chronic disease were not associated with an increased risk of mortality. Hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease were the most common comorbidities, and the most common symptoms were fever, dry cough, fatigue and shortness of breath. Lymphocytopenia and increased levels of D-dimer and other markers indicative of damage to the heart, kidneys or liver were associated with an increased risk of death.