Clinical effectiveness of intensive care unit admission in older adults with COVID-19 during the first pandemic wave in Spain.
Por:
Arroyo-Huidobro M, Pérez-López C, Pallarès N, Tebé Cordomí C, Simonetti AF, Abelenda-Alonso G, Rombauts A, Oriol Bermudez I, Izquierdo E, Diaz de Brito V, Molist G, Gómez-Melis G, Videla S, López Soto A, Carratalà J and Rodríguez-Molinero A
Publicada:
14 abr 2026
Ahead of Print:
14 abr 2026
Resumen:
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of ICU admission on mortality and complications of older patients with COVID-19 hospitalized during the first COVID-19 wave in our setting. METHODS: An observational, multicenter, and ambispective study of COVID-19 patients aged > 70 years who were hospitalized during the first wave of the pandemic in the southern metropolitan area of Barcelona, Spain. The primary outcome of the study was the in-hospital mortality rate of patients admitted to the ICU compared with their appropriately matched controls who received care in hospital wards. The secondary outcome was the in-hospital rate of complications in ICU-admitted patients versus their matched controls. RESULTS: The mortality rate was 76.6% in ICU-admitted patients and 64.9% among their matched controls, whereas the corresponding rates of complications were 73.5% and 32.4%, respectively. ICU admission shows a statistically significant impact on mortality (OR [95% CI] 2.50 [1.06–6.05]; p = 0.041). Additionally, complications were four times more likely in patients who were admitted to ICUs than in those admitted to general wards (OR [95% CI] 4.03 [1.64–9.91]; p = 0.0024). CONCLUSIONS: ICU admission was not associated with improved survival in patients older than 70 years during the first COVID-19 wave. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and to assess the adequacy of ICU admission criteria for elderly patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable.
Filiaciones:
Arroyo-Huidobro M:
Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, Geriatric Department, Universitat de Barcelona, C. de Villarroel, 170, Barcelona, 08036, Spain
Pérez-López C:
Consorci Sanitari Alt Pènedes I Garraf, Area de Recerca, Vilafranca del Penedès, Spain
Pallarès N:
Biostatistics Support and Research Unit, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute and Hospital (IGTP), Badalona, Catalunya, Spain
Tebé Cordomí C:
Biostatistics Support and Research Unit, Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute and Hospital (IGTP), Badalona, Catalunya, Spain
Simonetti AF:
Hospital de La Santa Creu I Sant Pau, Infectious Diseases Unit, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
Abelenda-Alonso G:
Bellvitge University Hospital, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Catalunya, Spain
Rombauts A:
Hospital de La Santa Creu I Sant Pau, Infectious Diseases Unit, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
Oriol Bermudez I:
Department of Internal Medicine, Consorci Sanitari Integral, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Catalunya, Spain
Izquierdo E:
Department of Anaesthesiology, Hospital de Viladecans, Viladecans, Catalunya, Spain
Diaz de Brito V:
Department of Infectious Diseases, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain
Molist G:
Universidad de Vic: Faculty of Medicine, University of Vic-Central University of Vic, Barcelona, Spain
Gómez-Melis G:
Department of Statistics and Operations Research and Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (IRIS), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya -BarcelonaTech, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
Videla S:
Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Bellvitge University Hospital, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Catalunya, Spain
Department of Pathology and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
López Soto A:
Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, Geriatric Unit, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi I Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Universidad de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
Carratalà J:
Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Universitario de Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Catalunya, Spain
Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Rodríguez-Molinero A:
Consorci Sanitari Alt Pènedes I Garraf, Area de Recerca, Vilafranca del Penedès, Spain
Open Access
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