Comparison of Clinical, Laboratory and Radiological Findings in Iranian Elderly and Non-Elderly Patients with COVID-19

Data suggests that elderly people are more easily infected by COVID-19 and develop a more serious prognosis than other age groups. The current study compared the clinical, laboratory, and radiological findings between groups of elderly and non-elderly Iranian patients with COVID-19.

Data was collected on 598 patients that had been diagnosed and confirmed with COVID-19 in Baqiyatallah hospital, Tehran, Iran from February 26 to March 26, 2020. Patients were assigned to the elderly (≥65 years old) and the non-elderly (<65 years old) groups and clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, imaging manifestations, and outcomes were compared between two age groups.

Data from a total of 139 elderly patients (23.2%) with a mean age of 73.1±6.5 years (range: 65-94 years), and 459 non-elderly patients (76.8%) with a mean age of 49.1±10.2 years (range: 22-64 years) were evaluated. Comorbidities including; hypertension, liver disease, rheumatism, asthma, and allergy were more common in the elderly than in the non-elderly. Early symptoms in the elderly and non-elderly patients included cough and dyspnea, as well as fever, muscle weakness, and chills. The RBC and hemoglobin in the elderly were significantly lower than in the non-elderly patients. While other laboratory findings were not significant differences between the two groups. The number of neutrophils and the ESR, AST, LDH, and CRP levels were higher in all elderly and non-elderly patients. The incidence of multilobe lesions in CT scan and mechanical ventilation in elderly patients was significantly greater than in non-elderly patients with COVID-19. Elderly and non-elderly patients with COVID-19 received the same symptomatic comprehensive supportive therapies. Eleven (7.9%) deaths occurred in the elderly group and 30 (6.5%) occurred in the non-elderly group.

Elderly patients with COVID-19 are more likely to have a complicated clinical condition and worse in-hospital outcomes than the non-elderly. It’s suggesting that elderly patients should seek early screening and early diagnosis to reduce the mortality rates and worse prognosis associated with COVID-19.