Age-Dependent Clinical Features and Prognosis of COVID-19 Patients

Background: The clinical and paraclinical symptoms of COVID-19 differ across age groups. This study investigated the differences between these parameters and their outcomes in young, middle-aged, and elderly patients admitted to a COVID-19 referral center. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study encompassed patients with COVID-19 hospitalized at Khorshid Hospital (Isfahan, Iran) during February 23 to April 30, 2020. The patients' predisposing conditions, clinical and paraclinical findings, and outcomes were compared among three young, middle-aged, and elderly groups. Results: Of the 1185 hospitalized patients with suspected COVID-19, 1065 were discharged or died at the end of the study. Among these 1065 patients, 654 patients with the mean age of 57.7 years had positive PCR results or typical CT scans and were included in the study, of whom 77 (11.8%), 353 (54%), and 234 (34.2%) patients were assigned into the young, middle-aged, and elderly groups, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference among the three groups regarding the prevalence of clinical symptoms. Moreover, CRP, ESR, WBC, BUN, Cr, and lymphocytes were higher in the elderly group. The ground-glass opacity (GGO) (24.1%), GGO-consolidation (27.4%), and consolidation (10.3%) were the most common CT scan findings in the young, middle-aged, and elderly groups, respectively. Fifty-three patients (8.1%) died, and the mortality rates were 10.36%, 7.27%, and 3.8% in the elderly, middle-aged, and young groups, respectively. Conclusion: COVID 19 symptoms do not depend on age; however, paraclinical findings differ across young, middle-aged, and elderly patients.