ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Old age is one of the most important risk factors for severe COVID-19. Few studies have analyzed changes in the clinical characteristics and prognosis of COVID-19 among older adults before the availability of vaccines. This work analyzes differences in clinical features and mortality in unvaccinated very old adults during the first and successive COVID-19 waves in Spain. METHODS: This nationwide, multicenter, retrospective cohort study analyzes unvaccinated patients ≥ 80 years hospitalized for COVID-19 in 150 Spanish hospitals (SEMI-COVID-19 Registry). Patients were classified according to whether they were admitted in the first wave (March 1-June 30, 2020) or successive waves (July 1-December 31, 2020). The endpoint was all-cause in-hospital mortality, expressed as the case fatality rate (CFR). RESULTS: Of the 21,461 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, 5,953 (27.7%) were ≥ 80 years (mean age [IQR]: 85.6 [82.3-89.2] years). Of them, 4,545 (76.3%) were admitted during the first wave and 1,408 (23.7%) during successive waves. Patients hospitalized in successive waves were older, had a greater Charlson Comorbidity Index and dependency, less cough and fever, and met fewer severity criteria at admission (qSOFA index, PO2/FiO2 ratio, inflammatory parameters). Significant differences were observed in treatments used in the first (greater use of antimalarials, lopinavir, and macrolides) and successive waves (greater use of corticosteroids, tocilizumab and remdesivir). In-hospital complications, especially acute respiratory distress syndrome and pneumonia, were less frequent in patients hospitalized in successive waves, except for heart failure. The CFR was significantly higher in the first wave (44.1% vs. 33.3%; -10.8%; p < 0.001) and was higher among patients ≥ 95 years (54.4% vs. 38.5%; -15.9%; p < 0.001). After adjustments to the model, the probability of death was 33% lower in successive waves (OR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.57-0.79). CONCLUSIONS: Mortality declined significantly between the first and successive waves in very old unvaccinated patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Spain. This decline could be explained by a greater availability of hospital resources and more effective treatments as the pandemic progressed, although other factors such as changes in SARS-CoV-2 virulence cannot be ruled out.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Hospital Mortality , Hospitalization , Humans , Registries , Retrospective Studies , SARS-CoV-2 , Spain/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Hospital at Home units allows ambulatory treatment and monitoring of complex and serious infections. Nosocomial infections produce an extension of the stay in hospital often specifying long intravenous treatments without any effective oral alternatives. Daily dosing of antimicrobial are easier to administer at home. The use of portable programmable pump infusion and elastomeric devices allow efficient and safe infusions for most antimicrobials at home. Some antibiotics against multidrug-resistant organisms of recent introduction have a suitable profile for outpatient intravenous treatment (AU)
Las unidades de Hospitalización a Domicilio permiten el tratamiento y control ambulatorio de infecciones graves y complejas. Las infecciones nosocomiales suponen una prolongación de la estancia hospitalaria precisando con frecuencia largos tratamientos intravenosos sin alternativa eficaz oral. Los antimicrobianos más sencillos de administrar en domicilio son aquellos con dosis única diaria. La utilización de bombas programables portátiles de infusión y de dispositivos elastoméricos permite infundir con eficacia y seguridad la mayoría de antimicrobianos. Algunos de los antibióticos frente a microorganismos multirresistentes de reciente introducción tienen un perfil muy adecuado para el tratamiento intravenoso ambulatorio (AU)
