Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Elderly Medical Admissions and Outcomes in a Tertiary Hospital in Northeastern Nigeria: A Comparative Retrospective Study

BACKGROUND

The coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been shown to be more lethal in the elderly (>65 years), especially those with co-morbidities. This study examined the impact of the pandemic lockdown period on trends in elderly medical admissions and deaths.

METHODOLOGY

This is a retrospective study of elderly medical admissions and deaths in the medical wards of a Nigerian hospital. Data for the months of March, April, May, June, and July of 2020 was compared to the same months before (2019) and after (2021). Analysis was done using STATA version 15.0.

RESULTS

During the study period, two hundred and seventy-six elderly patients were admitted, with a mean age (±SD) of 73.4 ± 7.4 years. The most common diagnoses at admission were chronic kidney disease (CKD) (26.85%, n=74) and hypertensive heart disease (HHD) (21.7%, n=60). The highest admission was in 2021, with a total of 99 (35.9%). Overall, 60 mortalities were recorded, with a proportional mortality rate of 21.7%, which was highest in 2020 (25.0%) and lowest in 2021 (17.1%). There was no difference between the mortality rates of 2019 versus 2020 (P=0.82) and 2020 versus 2021(P=0.18). Sepsis (35.0%) and CKD (25.0%) were the major contributors in 2019.

CONCLUSION

CKD and HHD were the most common diagnoses at admission, whereas sepsis, CKD, and CVD were the commonest causes of death. The Covid-19 pandemic did not significantly alter the elderly admission pattern in our setting.