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Objective: Older patients are rapidly increasing in the emergency department in low-middle-income countries and have poor outcomes. The present study aimed to find the spectrum of comorbidities, medical emergencies, and prognosis in geriatric patients and compare the elderly with very elderly patients in North India. Methodology: A prospective cohort study was conducted on patients aged ≥60 years admitted at Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh (India). The elderly and very elderly age was defined as 60–74 years and ≥75 years, respectively. Results: Of 935 enrolled patients, 763 (81.6%) were elderly, and 172 (18.4%) were very elderly. Very elderly more frequently required admission in the red area (65.7% vs. 57.4%, P = 0.045). 85.2% (n = 796) of patients had preexisting comorbidities, hypertension (44.5%) and diabetes (34.8%) being the most common. The most comorbidities and the Charlson comorbidity index score distribution were similar to the two age groups; however, hypertension was more in the elderly (52.3% vs. 42.7%, P = 0.022). Overall, gastrointestinal (25.7%), neurological (20.7%), and cardiovascular (19.0%) emergencies were common; however, the very elderly patients more frequently had neurological illnesses (30.8% vs. 18.5%, P < 0.001). Pulmonary infections were the most prevalent infections in both age groups. The frequency of urinary tract infections was higher in the very elderly (17.5% vs. 6.1%, P = 0.023). In-hospital survival was 82.7% (n = 773) and significantly low in the very elderly (76.7% vs. 84.0%, P = 0.023). The survival was predicted by quick sequential organ failure assessment but not by the Charlson comorbidity index. Conclusion: Very elderly patients more frequently have hypertension, neurological emergencies, urinary tract infections, and poor outcomes.

Context: The war against coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) continuing. Prevention is the best method to deal with the disease. The success of preventive measures is influenced by behavior of the population which in turn depends on knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of the community. Aims: The aim is to evaluate knowledge, attitude, and practices toward COVID-19 of general population who are using internet. Settings and Design: Cross-sectional study in general population using Google Forms. Methods: The KAP questionnaire previously used in Chinese study adopted here after modifying for content and cultural appropriateness. The questionnaire included the following domains: (i) demographic information, (ii) knowledge about COVID-19, (iii) attitude toward COVID-19, and (iv) preventive practices. The questionnaire was circulated through social media to general population through Google forms. Statistical Analysis Used: Chi-square test for association, independent t-test for comparison of two groups, one-way ANOVA for comparison of more than two groups. The statistical significance was set at 5%. Results: A total of 2193 participants took part in the study. Most of our participants were well educated and were either postgraduates or graduates 1913 (87.23%). The mean knowledge score of the participants was 10.36 (standard deviation: 1.27, median: 11.00). Most of the participants avoided crowded places, washed hands repeatedly, did not shake hands with any one. Majority of the participants were not taking any prophylaxis medications. Conclusions: The population has very good KAP about the disease which is helpful for preventive measures. This may be the reason for better control of the disease till now.

Introduction: The ability of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 to selectively target high-income countries, has puzzled many epidemiologists. Several possible protective factors such as Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine coverage, higher environmental temperature, higher proportion of the younger population, prevalence of hypertension (HTN), diabetes, and smoking have been suggested. This study aims at understanding the influence of each of these factors on case fatality rate due to COVID-19. Methods: We selected two or more countries in each geographical region, which were severely affected by SARS-CoV-2 infections. Case fatality rate for each country was calculated obtaining data on the number of cases and deaths in each country. The details of coverage of BCG vaccination, prevalence of HTN and diabetes, age structure of the population, and average maximum and minimum temperatures during February and March months of 2020, and prevalence of smoking for each country were taken from the World Health Organization and other standard databases till May 9, 2020. Statistical analysis was done using Karl Pearson's correlation and multiple linear regression model. Results: Case fatality rate was negatively correlated with BCG coverage of the country, percentage of population below 14 years age and average maximum temperatures. Conclusions: Environmental temperature, wider BCG coverage, and higher proportion of the younger population in middle- and low-income countries might have played a protective role against COVID-19.