Table 2.
Clinical differences in patients ≥ 70 years hospitalized for COVID-19 by survival status.
| Variable | Survivors (n = 7290) | No survivors (n = 3683) | OR (95% CI OR) | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics and comorbidities | ||||
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 80.0 (6.9) | 83.1 (6.9) | < 0.001 | |
| Age (years), categorized | < 0.001 | |||
| 70–79 (%) | 55.0 | 35.4 | 1 (ref.) | |
| 80–89 (%) | 35.8 | 48.0 | 2.08 (1.91–2.27) | |
| ≥ 90 (%) | 9.2 | 16.7 | 2.82 (2.49–3.20) | |
| Female sex (%) | 49.0 | 39.7 | 0.69 (0.63–0.74) | < 0.001 |
| Severe dependence (%)a | 25.2 | 43.5 | 2.28 (2.10–2.48) | < 0.001 |
| Age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index, mean (SD) | 5.2 (2.0) | 6.1 (2.2) | < 0.001 | |
| Age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index score, categorized | < 0.001 | |||
| Moderate (3–4) (%) | 45.1 | 25.8 | 1 (ref.) | |
| Severe (> 4) (%) | 54.9 | 74.2 | 2.37 (2.17–2.58) | |
| Hypertension (%) | 70.2 | 74.9 | 1.27 (1.16–1.39) | < 0.001 |
| Diabetes (%) | 25.9 | 30.1 | 1.23 (1.13–1.34) | < 0.001 |
| Cardiovascular disease (%)c | 28.5 | 41.0 | 1.74 (1.60–1.89) | < 0.001 |
| Obesity (%)b | 20.0 | 19.8 | 0.99 (0.89–1.10) | 0.836 |
| Obstructive respiratory disease (%)d | 21.9 | 24.9 | 1.18 (1.07–1.29) | < 0.001 |
| Dementia (%) | 15.4 | 26.2 | 1.94 (1.76–2.14) | < 0.001 |
| Malignancy (%)e | 12.6 | 16.2 | 1.34 (1.19–1.49) | < 0.001 |
| CKD (%)f | 7.7 | 13.9 | 1.93 (1.70–2.19) | < 0.001 |
| Moderate-severe chronic liver disease (%) | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.05 (0.72–1.53) | 0.788 |
| Clinical presentation upon admission | ||||
| Days from symptom onset, mean (SD) | 6.4 (4.8) | 5.1 (4.3) | < 0.001 | |
| Dyspnea (%) | 51.2 | 70.9 | 2.32 (2.13–2.53) | < 0.001 |
| Fatigue (%) | 42.7 | 39.2 | 0.87 (0.80–0.94) | < 0.001 |
| Anorexia (%) | 21.4 | 22.4 | 1.07 (0.97–1.17) | 0.202 |
| Myalgia (%) | 23.2 | 16.5 | 0.65 (0.59–0.72) | < 0.001 |
| Clouding of consciousness (%) | 14.2 | 33.4 | 3.02 (2.74–3.32) | < 0.001 |
| Diarrhea (%) | 21.6 | 14.4 | 0.61 (0.55–0.68) | < 0.001 |
| Abdominal pain (%) | 6.7 | 4.7 | 0.69 (0.58–0.83) | < 0.001 |
| Anosmia (%) | 5.8 | 1.3 | 0.22 (0.16–0.30) | < 0.001 |
| Sore throat (%) | 7.6 | 5.1 | 0.66 (0.55–0.78) | < 0.001 |
| Systolic blood pressure, mmHg, mean (SD) | 132.5 (22.4) | 128.5 (24.2) | < 0.001 | |
| Arterial stiffness (%)g | 48.4 | 45.2 | 0.88 (0.81–0.95) | 0.002 |
| Tachypnea (%)h | 26.3 | 55.0 | 3.44 (3.16–3.74) | < 0.001 |
| Fever (%)i | 17.0 | 22.2 | 1.39 (1.26–1.54) | < 0.001 |
| Tachycardia (%)j | 13.4 | 21.7 | 1.79 (1.62–1.99) | < 0.001 |
| Oxygen saturation (pulse oximetry, %), median [IQR] | 94.0 [91.0–96.0] | 91.0 [86.0–95.0] | < 0.001 | |
| Rales (%) | 53.6 | 61.9 | 1.41 (1.30–1.53) | < 0.001 |
| pO2/FiO2 ratio (%), mean (SD) | 298.9 (85.7) | 239.3 (93.5) | < 0.001 | |
| Laboratory and radiological findings at admission | ||||
| Hemoglobin (g/dL), mean (SD) | 13.2 (1.9) | 13.0 (2.2) | < 0.001 | |
| Platelet count, × 109/L, median [IQR] | 185.0 [143.0–246.5] | 178.0 [138.0–233.0] | < 0.001 | |
| White blood cell count, × 109/L, median [IQR] | 6.3 [4.8–8.6] | 7.4 [5.3–10.6] | < 0.001 | |
| Eosinophil count, × 109/L, median [IQR] | 0.0 [0.0–0.0] | 0.0 [0.0–0.0] | < 0.001 | |
| Lymphocyte count, × 109/L, median [IQR] | 0.9 [0.7–1.3] | 0.8 [0.5–1.1] | < 0.001 | |
| Blood glucose (mg/dL), median [IQR] | 116.0 [100.0–142.0] | 129.0 [108.0–169.0] | < 0.001 | |
| Glucose (mg/dL) | < 0.001 | |||
| < 140 (%) | 73.2 | 59.2 | 1 (ref.) | |
| 140–179 (%) | 15.3 | 19.9 | 1.60 (1.44–1.79) | |
| ≥ 180 (%) | 11.4 | 20.9 | 2.26 (2.02–2.53) | |
| C-Reactive protein (mg/L), median [IQR] | 56.5 [19.0–116.9] | 101.0 [40.9–179.0] | < 0.001 | |
| Creatinine (mg/dL), median [IQR] | 0.9 [0.8–1.2] | 1.2 [0.9–1.7] | < 0.001 | |
| Inflammatory patternk | < 0.001 | |||
| Low (%) | 2.6 | 0.4 | 1 (ref.) | |
| Moderate (%) | 19.1 | 6.1 | 1.88 (1.09–3.26) | |
| Severe (%) | 78.3 | 93.4 | 7.01 (4.13–11.90) | |
| Infiltrates (any) in chest X-ray (%) | 80.8 | 87.4 | 1.65 (1.47–1.85) | < 0.001 |
| Treatments received | ||||
| Oxygen via high flow nasal cannula (%) | 5.3 | 13.7 | 2.82 (2.45–3.24) | < 0.001 |
| Non-invasive mechanical ventilation (%) | 3.0 | 11.7 | 4.24 (3.59–5.02) | < 0.001 |
| Invasive mechanical ventilation (%) | 2.9 | 9.5 | 3.49 (2.93–4.16) | < 0.001 |
| Systemic corticosteroids (%) | 45.1 | 54.4 | 1.46 (1.35–1.58) | < 0.001 |
| Remdesivir | < 0.001 | |||
| No (%) | 96.4 | 98.0 | 1 (ref.) | |
| Yes, ≤ 10 days from symptoms onset (%) | 3.1 | 1.7 | 0.53 (0.40–0.71) | |
| Yes, > 10 days from symptoms onset (%) | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.65 (0.34–1.26) | |
| Tocilizumab (%) | 6.6 | 8.1 | 1.24 (1.07–1.45) | 0.005 |
aSevere dependence: Barthel Index < 60; bObesity: BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2; cCardiovascular disease: Ischemic heart disease, heart failure, transient ischemic attack, stroke, or peripheral artery disease; dObstructive respiratory disease: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, chronic bronchitis, or obstructive sleep apnea; eMalignancy: solid tumor, leukemia, lymphoma; fCKD: chronic kidney disease (patients on dialysis or with serum creatinine > 3 mg/dL); gArterial stiffness: pulse pressure ≥ 60 mmHg; hTachypnea: > 20 breaths per minute; iFever: temperature > 37.8 ºC; jTachycardia: heart rate > 100 bpm; kInflammatory pattern: see description in “Methods”. Categoric variables are expressed as percentages and compared using likelihood-ratio chi-square test for statistical significance. OR = odds ratio; 95% CI OR: 95% confidence interval for odds ratio. The odds ratios have been calculated with respect to the first category. Quantitative variables are expressed as mean (standard deviation) or median [interquartile range] and were compared for statistical significance using Student's t-test (with equal or unequal variances) or Mann–Whitney U test, as appropriate.