Abstract
Objectives: We sought to evaluate the association between age and presentation of SARS-COV2 infection.
Methods: Clinical presentation and radiological data of all consecutive COVID19 patients admitted to our Hospital between 01-03-2020 and 30-04-2020 were analyzed. SARS-CoV-2 positive patients were diagnosed by either swab test or bronchoalveolar lavage. Patients without proved SARS-CoV-2 infection or without HRCT scan were excluded. All HRCT were reviewed and classified according to RSNA Classification of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia(1).
Results: Over the study period, 179 patients met the inclusion criteria. Mean age was 67 years (SD 15.1, range 19-96); 55.8% (N= 100) were male. Of them, 22 patients (12%) had atypical clinical presentation. The more frequent atypical presentations were cardiovascular, including syncope (N= 5, 22%) and heart failure (N= 5, 22%). HRCT was Typical in 151 (84.4%) patients, Indeterminate in 14 (7.8%), Atypical in 12 (6.7%), and Negative in 2 (0.01%). Among elderly patients (≥70 years old) accounting for 44% of the total population (N=80), HRTC was more frequently Atypical (11/80 patients, 13.75%) compared to younger patients (<70 year of age, 1/99 patients, 1%) (p-value= 0.001). Similarly, the clinical presentation was more frequently atypical in the elderly (19/80, 23%) compared to the younger (3/99, 3.0%) (p-value <0.0001).
Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 infections in elderly can results in atypical clinical and radiological presentation, potentially leading to misdiagnosis and unrecognized cases.
(1)Simpson S, et al. Radiology. 2020. doi: 10.1148/ryct.2020200152.
Footnotes
Cite this article as: European Respiratory Journal 2020; 56: Suppl. 64, 3593.
This abstract was presented at the 2020 ERS International Congress, in session “Respiratory viruses in the "pre COVID-19" era”.
This is an ERS International Congress abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only).
- Copyright ©the authors 2020