Evaluation of patients hospitalized in a geriatrics clinic during normalization process of SARS CoV-2

Aim: The pandemic of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 was more severe and more fatal for elders and individuals who have chronic diseases. The treatment may be delayed due to the elders’ “fear of infection” in hospitals. This study aimed to evaluate the data of older patients who were admitted to the Geriatrics clinic in the normalization period. Materials and Methods: The data was retrieved between June-August 2020, retrospectively from the file database for older patients who were hospitalized in a geriatrics clinic of a university hospital. Results: 23 patients were included in the study and their mean age was 81.4±7.4 years. The most common symptoms at admission were changes in consciousness, weight loss, and malnutrition, respectively. The duration of symptoms was less than a month in 56.5% of patients, 1-3 months in 17.4% of patients, and more than 3 months in 26.1% of patients. The most common indications were delirium, urinary tract infection, and acute renal failure, respectively 73.9% of patients applied from the outpatient clinics and 26.1% from the emergency clinic. The mean hospitalization duration was 24.2 ± 17,2 days. 43.5% of patients had delirium and 21.7% had pressure ulcers during their hospitalization. Conclusion: The hospitalization indications had variations, outpatient hospitalizations were higher, and the duration of hospitalization was longer during normalization process of SARS CoV-2. Approximately, half of the patients had symptoms for more than a month and it is an important point to be investigated. In addition, geriatric syndromes such as delirium and pressure ulcer increased in this process