https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9162-7866
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Abstract
Background: COVID-19 continues to present challenges in the care of older adults with frailty and/or comorbidities and very old patients, who can be hospitalized with severe COVID-19 despite full vaccination. Frailty is a heterogeneous syndrome characterized by an increased aging-related vulnerability due to a reduced physiological reserve and function of systemic organs, and is associated with an impairment of activities of daily living. Frail older adults remain at elevated risk of mortality from COVID-19 compared to older adults without frailty, and some pre-existing risk factors such as malnutrition, prolonged bed rest, and the association with comorbidities can aggravate the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Furthermore, the severity of COVID-19 can impact on long-term functioning of older patients surviving from the infection. Persistent symptoms are another emerging problem of the post-vaccination phase of pandemic, as most patients suffer from chronic symptoms which can become debilitating and affect the daily routine. Aim of this review: In this complex relationship, the evaluation of COVID-19 in vulnerable categories is still a matter of high interest and personalized care plans based on a comprehensive geriatric assessment, tailored interventions; specific therapeutic algorithms among older adults are thus recommended in order to improve the outcomes.
Author contributions
CT, LM, conception and design; CT, LV, KF, JV, MT, CM, FR, AT, TM, FC, MAG, analysis and interpretation of the data; CT, LV, KF, JV, MT, CM, FR, AT, TM, FC, MAG, drafting of the paper, revising it critically for intellectual content and final approval of the version to be published. All authors agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Ethical approval
The manuscript has been written in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the Helsinki Declaration of 1975 and its late amendments.
Disclosure statement
The authors have no conflict of interests to declare. Dr. Claudio Tana is the Section Editor of the Primary Care section of Annals of Medicine.
Data availability statement
All figures and tables are original and are not taken from other publications. Data sharing is not applicable to this article, as no new data were created or analysed in this study.