Aim: The aim of the present study was to describe the clinical presentation of patients aged ≥80 years with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), and provide insights regarding the prognostic factors and the risk stratification in this population.Methods: This was a single‐center, retrospective, observational study, carried out in a referral center for COVID‐19 in central Italy. We reviewed the clinical records of patients consecutively admitted for confirmed COVID‐19 over a 1‐month period (1–31 March 2020). We excluded asymptomatic discharged patients. We identified risk factors for death, by a uni‐ and multivariate Cox regression analysis. To improve model fitting and hazard estimation, continuous parameters where dichotomized by using Youden’s index.Results: Overall, 69 patients, aged 80–98 years, met the inclusion criteria and were included in the study cohort. The median age was 84 years (82–89 years is interquartile range); 37 patients (53.6%) were men. Globally, 14 patients (20.3%) presented a mild, 30 (43.5%) a severe and 25 (36.2%) a critical COVID‐19 disease. A total of 23 (33.3%) patients had died at 30 days’ follow up. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that severe dementia, pO₂ ≤90 at admission and lactate dehydrogenase >464 U/L were independent risk factors for death.Conclusions: The present data suggest that risk of death could be not age dependent in patients aged ≥80 years, whereas severe dementia emerged is a relevant risk factor in this population. Severe COVID‐19, as expressed by elevated lactate dehydrogenase and low oxygen saturation at emergency department admission, is associated with a rapid progression to death in these patients. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2020; ••: ••–••.

Climate change is widely recognized as one of the most significant challenges facing our planet and human civilization. Human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial processes release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, leading to a warming of the Earth’s climate. The relationship between climate change and cardiovascular (CV) health, mediated by air pollution and increased ambient temperatures, is complex and very heterogeneous. The main mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of CV disease at extreme temperatures involve several regulatory pathways, including temperature-sympathetic reactivity, the cold-activated renin-angiotensin system, dehydration, extreme temperature-induced electrolyte imbalances, and heat stroke-induced systemic inflammatory responses. The interplay of these mechanisms may vary based on individual factors, environmental conditions, and an overall health background. The net outcome is a significant increase in CV mortality and a higher incidence of hypertension, type II diabetes mellitus, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure, and cardiac arrhythmias. Patients with pre-existing CV disorders may be more vulnerable to the effects of global warming and extreme temperatures. There is an urgent need for a comprehensive intervention that spans from the individual level to a systemic or global approach to effectively address this existential problem. Future programs aimed at reducing CV and environmental burdens should require cross-disciplinary collaboration involving physicians, researchers, public health workers, political scientists, legislators, and national leaders to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Background/Objectives: Several scoring systems have been specifically developed for risk stratification in COVID‐19 patients. Design: We compared, in a cohort of confirmed COVID‐19 older patients, three specifically developed scores with a previously established early warning score. Main endpoint was all causes in‐hospital death. Setting: This is a single‐center, retrospective observational study, conducted in the Emergency Department (ED) of an urban teaching hospital, referral center for COVID‐19. Participants: We reviewed the clinical records of the confirmed COVID‐19 patients aged 60 years or more consecutively admitted to our ED over a 6‐week period (March 1st to April 15th, 2020). A total of 210 patients, aged between 60 and 98 years were included in the study cohort. Measurements: International Severe Acute Respiratory Infection Consortium Clinical Characterization Protocol‐Coronavirus Clinical Characterization Consortium (ISARIC‐4C) score, COVID‐GRAM Critical Illness Risk Score (COVID‐GRAM), quick COVID‐19 Severity Index (qCSI), National Early Warning Score (NEWS). Results: Median age was 74 (67–82) and 133 (63.3%) were males. Globally, 42 patients (20.0%) deceased. All the score evaluated showed a fairly good predictive value with respect to in‐hospital death. The ISARIC‐4C score had the highest area under ROC curve (AUROC) 0.799 (0.738–0.851), followed by the COVID‐GRAM 0.785 (0.723–0.838), NEWS 0.764 (0.700–0.819), and qCSI 0.749 (0.685–0.806). However, these differences were not statistical significant. Conclusion: Among the evaluated scores, the ISARIC‐4C and the COVID‐GRAM, calculated at ED admission, had the best performance, although the qCSI had similar efficacy by evaluating only three items. However, the NEWS, already widely validated in clinical practice, had a similar performance and could be appropriate for older patients with COVID‐19.

Acute Heart Failure (AHF)-related hospitalizations and mortality are still high in western countries, especially among older patients. This study aimed to describe the clinical characteristics and predictors of in-hospital mortality of older patients hospitalized with AHF. We conducted a retrospective study including all consecutive patients ≥65 years who were admitted for AHF at a single academic medical center between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2018. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality. We also analyzed deaths due to cardiovascular (CV) and non-CV causes and compared early in-hospital events. The study included 6930 patients, mean age 81 years, 51% females. The overall mortality rate was 13%. Patients ≥85 years had higher mortality and early death rate than younger patients. Infections were the most common condition precipitating AHF in our cohort, and pneumonia was the most frequent of these. About half of all hospital deaths were due to non-CV causes. After adjusting for confounding factors other than NYHA class at admission, infections were associated with an almost two-fold increased risk of mortality, HR 1.74, 95% CI 1.10–2.71 in patients 65–74 years (p = 0.014); HR 1.83, 95% CI 1.34–2.49 in patients 75–84 years (p = 0.001); HR 1.74, 95% CI 1.24–2.19 in patients ≥85 years (p = 0.001). In conclusion, among older patients with AHF, in-hospital mortality rates increased with increasing age, and infections were associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality. In contemporary patients with AHF, along with the treatment of the CV conditions, management should be focused on timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment of non-CV factors, especially pulmonary infections.

Dementia is associated with high rates of admission to hospital, due to acute illness, and in-hospital mortality. The study aimed to investigate the impact of dementia on in-hospital mortality and identify the predictors of in-hospital mortality in these patients. This was a retrospective study evaluating all the patients ≥65 years consecutively admitted to our Emergency Department (ED). We compared the clinical outcomes of the patients with dementia at ED admission with those who did not have dementia, using a propensity score-matched (PSM) paired cohort of controls. The patients were matched for age, sex, Charlson Comorbidity Index value, and clinical severity at presentation (based on NEWS ≥ 5). The primary study endpoint was all-cause in-hospital death. After the PSM, a total of 7118 patients, 3559 with dementia and 3559 in the control group, were included in the study cohort. The mean age was 84 years, and 59.8% were females. The overall mortality rate was higher for the demented patients compared with the controls (18.7% vs. 16.0%, p = 0.002). The multivariate-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) showed that dementia was an independent risk factor for death (HR 1.13 [1.01–1.27]; p = 0.033). In the patients with dementia, respiratory failure (HR 3.08 [2.6–3.65]), acute renal failure (HR 1.64 [1.33–2.02]; p < 0.001), hemorrhagic stroke (HR 1.84 [1.38–2.44]; p < 0.001), and bloodstream infection (HR 1.41 [1.17–1.71]; p = 0.001) were significant predictors of worse outcomes. Finally, the comorbidities and severity of illness at ED admission negatively influenced survival among the patients with dementia (CCI HR 1.05 [1.01–1.1] p = 0.005; NEWS ≥ 5 HR 2.45 [1.88–3.2] p < 0.001). In conclusion, among the hospitalized older patients, dementia was associated with a higher risk of mortality. Furthermore, among the older patients with dementia, respiratory failure and bloodstream infections were independently associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality.