Causes of deaths in long-term care and hospice care facilities during the first year of COVID-19 pandemic: a snapshot of Italy during 2020.
Aging Clin Exp Res
; 35(6): 1385-1392, 2023 Jun.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2320800
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Older adults living in long-term care facilities (LTCF) have been severely affected by COVID-19. Hospice care (HC) facilities and palliative care are essential in treating patients dying from COVID-19. In Italy, little is known about the impact of COVID-19 on deaths in LTCF and the care provided in HC to COVID-19 patients.AIM:
To assess overall and case-specific mortality in 2020 in LTC and HC facilities in comparison to the previous five years (2015-2019).METHODS:
We performed a descriptive study using data derived from the Italian national "Cause of Death" registry-managed by the Italian National Institute of Statistics-on deaths occurred in LTC and HC facilities during 2020 and the period 2015-2019.RESULTS:
Number of deaths significantly increased in 2020 compared with 2015-2019 in LTCF (83,062 deaths vs. 59,200) and slightly decreased in hospices (38,788 vs. 39,652). COVID-19 caused 12.5% of deaths in LTCF and only 2% in hospices. Other than COVID-19, in 2020, cancer accounted for 77% of all deaths that occurred in HC, while cardiovascular diseases (35.6%) and psychotic and behavioral disorders (10%) were the most common causes of death in LTCF. Overall, 22% of the excess mortality registered in Italy during 2020 is represented by the deaths that occurred in LTCF. DISCUSSION ANDCONCLUSION:
LTCF were disproportionally affected by COVID-19, while the response to the pandemic in HC was limited. These data can help plan strategies to limit the impact of future epidemics and to better understand residential care response to COVID-19 epidemic.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Hospice Care
/
COVID-19
/
Hospices
Type of study:
Observational study
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Aged
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Aging Clin Exp Res
Journal subject:
Geriatrics
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S40520-023-02426-7
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