Comparison of Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of Younger and Elderly Patients with Severe COVID-19 in Korea: A Retrospective Multicenter Study

Abstract

Old age is associated with disease severity and poor prognosis among coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases; however, characteristics of elderly patients with severe COVID-19 are limited. We aimed to assess the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 at tertiary care centers in South Korea. This retrospective multicenter study included patients with severe COVID-19 who were admitted at seven hospitals in South Korea from 2 February 2020 to 28 February 2021. The Cox regression analyses were performed to assess factors associated with the in-hospital mortality. Of 488 patients with severe COVID-19, 318 (65.2%) were elderly (≥65 years). The older patient group had more underlying diseases and a higher severity score than the younger patient group. The older patient group had a higher in-hospital mortality rate than the younger patient group (25.5% versus 4.7%, p-value < 0.001). The in-hospital mortality risk factors among patients with severe COVID-19 included age, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II score, presence of diabetes and chronic obstructive lung disease, high white blood cell count, low neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and platelet count, do-not-resuscitate order, and treatment with invasive mechanical ventilation. In addition to old age, disease severity and examination results must be considered in treatment decision-making.