1. COVID-19 in seniors: Findings and lessons from mass screening in a nursing home
- Author
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Guillaume Sacco, Cédric Annweiler, Gonzague Foucault, Olivier Brière, Laboratoire de Psychologie des Pays de la Loire (LPPL), Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Nantes - UFR Lettres et Langages (UFRLL), and Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)
- Subjects
Male ,[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] ,Attack rate ,0302 clinical medicine ,Obstetrics and Gynaecology ,Case fatality rate ,Prevalence ,Medicine ,Homes for the Aged ,Mass Screening ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Aged, 80 and over ,education.field_of_study ,030219 obstetrics & reproductive medicine ,Nursing home ,Mortality rate ,Obstetrics and Gynecology ,Prognosis ,3. Good health ,Anorexia ,Caregivers ,Older adults ,Female ,France ,medicine.symptom ,Coronavirus Infections ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Frail Elderly ,Population ,Pneumonia, Viral ,Asymptomatic ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,Article ,03 medical and health sciences ,Betacoronavirus ,Humans ,education ,Pandemics ,Mass screening ,Retrospective Studies ,business.industry ,SARS-CoV-2 ,COVID-19 ,Retrospective cohort study ,Nursing Homes ,Dyspnea ,Family medicine ,Symptoms ,Accidental Falls ,business - Abstract
Highlights • A 100% COVID-19 probability was found in residents younger than 90 with dyspnea and falls. • A 100% COVID-19 probability was found in residents older than 90 with anorexia. • A 100% COVID-19 probability was found in residents older than 90 without anorexia but with altered consciousness. • Mass screening should prioritize residents with combinations of symptoms including dyspnea, falls, anorexia and/or altered consciousness., Background/objective The COVID-19 epidemic is particularly serious in older adults. The symptomatology and epidemic profile remain little known in this population, especially in disabled oldest-old people with chronic diseases living in nursing homes. The objective of the present study was to comprehensively describe symptoms and chronological aspects of the diffusion of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in a nursing home, among both residents and caregivers. Design Five-week retrospective cohort study. Setting A middle-sized nursing home in Maine-et-Loire, west of France. Participants Eighty-seven frail older residents (87.9 ± 7.2years; 71 % female) and 92 staff members (38.3 ± 11.7years; 89 % female) were included. Measurements Mass screening for SARS-CoV-2 was performed in both residents and staff. Attack rate, mortality rate, and symptoms among residents and staff infected with SARS-CoV-2 were recorded. Results The attack rate of COVID-19 was 47 % in residents (case fatality rate, 27 %), and 24 % in staff. Epidemic curves revealed that the epidemic started in residents before spreading to caregivers. Residents exhibited both general and respiratory signs (59 % hyperthermia, 49 % cough, 42 % polypnea) together with geriatric syndromes (15 % falls, 10 % altered consciousness). The classification tree revealed 100 % COVID-19 probability in the following groups: i) residents younger than 90 with dyspnea and falls; ii) residents older than 90 with anorexia; iii) residents older than 90 without anorexia but with altered consciousness. Finally, 41 % of staff members diagnosed with COVID-19 were asymptomatic. Conclusions The pauci-symptomatic expression of COVID-19 in older residents, together with the high prevalence of asymptomatic forms in caregivers, justifies mass screening in nursing homes, possibly prioritizing residents with suggestive combinations of clinical signs including dyspnea, falls, anorexia and/or altered consciousness.
- Published
- 2020
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