Abstract
Background: SARS-CoV-2 causes high mortality risk in older patients. This study aims to characterize the clinical features of older and younger SARS-CoV-2 infected patients.Results: A total of 239 patients were divided into the younger group (<60 years; n=181) and the older group (≥60 years; n=58). In both groups, fever and cough were common symptoms. However, dyspnea was more frequent in older patients than younger patients (20.7% versus 9.9%, p=0.032). Compared with younger patients, older patients harbored more severe cases (37.9% versus 17.1%, p=0.001) and comorbidities (58.6% versus 21.0%, p<0.001) such as hypertension and diabetes. The baseline values of eosinophils and C-reactive protein were abnormal in older and younger groups. From baseline to day 14, significant decreases of three biomarkers (C-reactive protein, hemoglobin, albumin) and dramatic increases of three biomarkers (lymphocytes, platelets, blood urea nitrogen) were observed in older patients.Conclusion: Older and younger patients exhibited differences in dyspnea, comorbidities, and proportions of severe cases. Moreover, the disease progression of SARS-CoV-2 in older patients is observed with the dynamics of laboratory biomarkers, supporting their potential use in disease monitoring.Methods: We retrieved clinical symptoms, laboratory findings, comorbidities, and hospitalization information of SARS-CoV-2 cases in Changsha.
Highlights
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly contagious coronavirus that causes pneumonia-like deaths and spreads fast through human-to-human contact [1,2,3]
Our study aims to characterize the clinical features of SARS-CoV-2 in younger and older groups based on a large cohort of 239 patients in Changsha - a neighboring city of Wuhan
Based on a cohort of 239 patients, our study revealed three major findings: (i) older and younger patients exhibited differences in dyspnea, comorbidities, and proportions of severe cases; (ii) compared with younger patients, older patients exhibited higher levels of Creactive protein, D-dimer, aspartate aminotransferase, blood urea nitrogen and lower levels of lymphocytes, hemoglobin, platelet, albumin at baseline; and (iii) the disease progression of SARS-CoV-2 was associated with the dynamics of laboratory biomarkers such as Creactive protein and lymphocytes, supporting their clinical use in disease monitoring
Summary
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly contagious coronavirus that causes pneumonia-like deaths and spreads fast through human-to-human contact [1,2,3]. An early study reported a high prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in older males with comorbidities [4]. Subsequent studies confirmed that SARS-CoV-2 was often observed in older patients with comorbidities [5] and severe disease progression [6, 7]. Another study revealed a high risk of mortality in older patients with comorbidities and acute respiratory distress syndrome [9]. Few studies have revealed clinical differences between older and younger groups. Older patients harbored more severe cases (37.9% versus 17.1%, p=0.001) and comorbidities (58.6% versus 21.0%, p
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