The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the geriatric inpatient unit

Abstract

Objective

We aimed to determine the effects of the pandemic on the inpatients in the geriatric unit by comparing the demographic and clinical characteristics, reasons for hospitalization, morbidity, and mortality of the patients before and during the pandemic.

Methods

The population of this retrospective, cross-sectional study consisted of inpatients in the geriatric unit for two years (11 March 2019–10 March 2021). The patients were separated into two groups according to the hospitalization time as pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 period. Hospitalization types, reasons for hospitalization, length of stay, demographic data, chronic diseases, drugs, developed morbidities, discharge, and 1-year mortality status of the patients were recorded.

Results

Three hundred and fifty patients were included in our study. The mean age was 80.4 ± 8.02. It was observed that the number of hospitalized patients decreased by ∼50% in the COVID-19 period. However, there was a significant decrease in hospitalization due to the control of chronic diseases during the COVID-19 period (p = .008). The number of inpatients from the emergency department was found to be higher during the COVID-19 period (p < .001). Regarding the presence of geriatric syndromes, polypharmacy (p = .011) and delirium (p = .035) were found to be significantly less in the pre-COVID-19 period. The percentage of malnutrition was also detected as lower, but it was not statistically significant. In terms of 1-year mortality, although not statistically significant, the all-cause mortality rate was higher during the COVID-19 period (p = .08).

Conclusions

Pandemic has greatly affected the geriatric unit. The prognosis of the patients has worsened and mortality rates have increased. Physiological and psychological deterioration caused by quarantine measures, worsening chronic diseases, and immunosenescence affected the prognosis of geriatric patients. This adds to the previous literature by proving the fact that older individuals are the most vulnerable group in the pandemic.

Keywords:

• Pandemic
• aged
• mortality
• COVID-19
• hospitalization

Transparency

Declaration of funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Declaration of financial/other relationships

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Author contributions

TEG: conception and design. TEG, DU, VS, BBK, and GU: analysis and interpretation of the data. AD, DSE, and HY: the drafting of the paper or revising it critically for intellectual content. TEG and HY: the final approval of the version to be published; and that all authors agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all patients for participating in the project.

Ethical approval

The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine (decision no:19.04.2022-362445), and was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki of 1996.