Functional decline at 1 year in hospitalized elderly pneumonia with SARS‐CoV‐2 Omicron variant: Comparison with the ancestral strain and Alpha variant.

In the SARS‐CoV‐2 Omicron period, the pattern of pneumonia changed from primarily viral pneumonia to pneumonia mixed with bacteria in the elderly. We investigated functional outcomes at 1 year after hospital discharge in patients with primary Omicron pneumonia and pneumonia mixed with bacteria, mainly aspiration pneumonia. Functional decline rates calculated using the Barthel Index at 1 year after hospital discharge were significantly higher in the pneumonia mixed with bacteria group than the primary viral pneumonia group (42.6% vs. 20.5%, p < 0.0001). It is necessary to consider early rehabilitation and treatment in elderly patients even when the predominant strain is the Omicron variant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]