ABSTRACT
Background: SARS-CoV-2 affects all age groups, but higher mortality rates are recorded in older people, men and with comorbidities, mainly hypertension, diabetes and obesity. Aim: To describe the main clinical characteristics, evolution and prognostic factors for death in older patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Materials and methods: Retrospective analysis of 128 Patients aged 73 years, 66% men, hospitalized at a clinical hospital, with a diagnosis of COVID-19, admitted from May 1 to August 1, 2020. Data were collected from the clinical records, a description of the study population was made, and a univariate analysis and logistic regression were performed. Results: Seventy-two percent of patients had two or more comorbidities, mainly arterial hypertension in 66%, diabetes mellitus in 34% and cardiovascular disease in 19%. Forty-one percent were admitted to intensive care and 31% were connected to mechanical ventilation. In-hospital mortality was 26.6%. A multivariate analysis was performed in two blocks, finding in the first that arterial hypertension and older age significantly predict mortality. However, when previous institutionalization and immunosuppression were included as variables in the second block, age ceased to be a significant predictor. Conclusions: Prognostic factors associated with death in this age group are arterial hypertension and previous institutionalization.
ABSTRACT
Background: SARS-CoV-2 affects all age groups, but higher mortality rates are recorded in older people, men and with comorbidities, mainly hypertension, diabetes and obesity. Aim: To describe the main clinical characteristics, evolution and prognostic factors for death in older patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Materials and Methods: Retrospective analysis of 128 patients aged 73 years, 66% men, hospitalized at a clinical hospital, with a diagnosis of COVID-19, admitted from May 1 to August 1, 2020. Data were collected from the clinical records, a description of the study population was made, and a univariate analysis and logistic regression were performed. Results: Seventy-two percent of patients had two or more comorbidities, mainly arterial hypertension in 66%, diabetes mellitus in 34% and cardiovascular disease in 19%. Forty-one percent were admitted to intensive care and 31% were connected to mechanical ventilation. In-hospital mortality was 26.6%. A multivariate analysis was performed in two blocks, finding in the first that arterial hypertension and older age significantly predict mortality. However, when previous institutionalization and immunosuppression were included as variables in the second block, age ceased to be a significant predictor. Conclusions: Prognostic factors associated with death in this age group are arterial hypertension and previous institutionalization.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has had catastrophic consequences worldwide in different scopes, such as healthcare, education, housing, among others. As an important consequence, it revealed the fragility of social protection systems in Latin America, as depicted in the lack of alternative mechanisms to respond to the complex demands raised by the pandemics. As for healthcare systems, all efforts were focused in COVID-19 patients, leaving aside other patients, as bedridden patients who used to receive complementary attention at home, causing a big deal of stress to their informal home care providers. This research analyzes the perceptions, challenges, and expectations of informal care providers in this pandemic context. Throughout a six-month period, 12 semi structured interviews were performed online. The information was analyzed based on the principles of Grounded Theory, showing this has been a period particularly negative for informal care providers, as the offer of support public services has been diminished, increasing the perception of abandonment and vulnerability. Public policies to be developed are also discussed. © 2021 Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso. All rights reserved.