CHARACTERISTICS OF COVID-19 INFECTION AMONG NURSING CARE HOME RESIDENTS – CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY FROM CROATIA

Abstract

Purpose: Given high risk of infection-related mortality due to impaired immunity, elderly patients are at increased risk with COVID-19. In its diagnostic procedure clinical laboratory medicine has a pivotal role. The aim of this study was to investigate clinical and laboratory specificities in Croatian population of nursing care home residents affected by coronavirus.

Materials and Methods: One hundred and six residents of nursing care homes that were hospitalized due to COVID-19 infection, were included in this retrospective study. Clinical and laboratory findings at three time points were extracted from medical records.

Results: There were 86 females and 20 males, with median of age 84 (min-max: 47-97) years. Patients were divided into three groups: Survivors (S), patients who are still alive (N=65), In-Hospital Non-Survivors (IHNS), patients who died from coronavirus during hospitalization (N=31) and Out-of-Hospital Non-Survivors (OHNS), patients who recovered from infection but died during the period of three months of the follow-up (N=10). We have established differences between these three groups in laboratory findings (P<0.05). At the admission, survivors had lower values of lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate transaminase, sedimentation ratio, ferritin and C-reactive protein, OHNS were in the middle, and IHNS had the highest values. Leukocytes and absolute lympocyte count were greater in OHNS group, and same between survivors and IHNS. After 7 days, we noticed increase in leukocyte and neutrophils count among IHNS.

Conclusions: Assesing of complete blood count, differential blood count, reactants of acute infection and combination of there ratios might predict worse outcome in nursing home residents due to coronavirus infection.