The Most Common Causes of Hospitalization among Elderly Patients in the Infectious Disease Ward: a Cross-Sectional Study

Document Type : Original Article(s)

Authors

1 Infectious Diseases Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

2 Clinical Research Development Center, Imam Khomeini and Mohammad Kermanshahi and Farabi Hospitals, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

3 Infectious Diseases Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.

4 Medical School, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

5 Infectious Diseases Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, AND Epidemiology, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.

10.48305/jims.v43.i808.0219

Abstract

Background: As the incidence of infections rises in older adults, costs and prolonged hospitalization due to these diseases also increase. Consequently, this study aims to identify the infectious causes that lead to hospitalization among elderly patient.
Methods: The present study was conducted using a cross-sectional design. The statistical population consisted of elderly individuals aged over 65 years who were hospitalized in the infectious disease ward of Imam Reza Hospital between the years 2015 - 1400. Data were collected using a researcher-made checklist, completed by reviewing the information in the patients' file.
Findings: In the current study, 2,092 elderly individuals were examined. The most important infectious causes for hospitalization among the elderly were pneumonia (33.1%), urinary tract infections (22.0%), diabetic foot ulcers (19.5%), and COVID-19 (9.1%). Of the hospitalized elderly patients, 56.6% were male. Additionally, 33.6% had high blood pressure, and 12.1% had diabetes. The mean age of the participants was 75.2 ± 15.7 years, and the average length of hospitalization was 7.2 ± 3.1 days. The most common clinical symptoms reported upon admission included sputum production (51.4%), shortness of breath (48.8%), and chills (35.5%).
Conclusion: The study's results indicate that infections such as pneumonia, urinary tract infections, diabetic foot ulcers, and COVID-19 are most important causes of hospitalization in the elderly. Therefore, it is recommended that therapeutic interventions and management policies be developed for these infections.

Highlights

Ronak Miladi: PubMed

Armin Naghipour: PubMed

Mohammad Hossein Zamanian: PubMed

Zainab Mohseni Afshar: PubMed

Zahra Naghibifar: PubMed

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  1. Pascucci T, Cardella GM, Hernández-Sánchez B, Sánchez-García JC. Systematic review of socio-emotional values within organizations. Front Psychol 2022; 12: 738203.
  2. Mahmoudi N, Abolfathi Momtaz Y, Foroughan M, Zanjari N, Mohaqeqi Kamal SH. Prevalence of Social Isolation Among Older Adults in Tehran, Iran, and Its Associated Factors. Archives of Rehabilitation. 2022; 23(1): 88-111.
  3. Haro H, Ebata S, Inoue G, Kaito T, Komori H, Ohba T, et al. Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) clinical practice guidelines on the management of lumbar disc herniation, -secondary publication. Journal of Orthopaedic Science 2022; 27(1): 31-78.
  4. Begley KM, Monto AS, Lamerato LE, Malani AN, Lauring AS, Talbot HK, et al. Prevalence and clinical outcomes of respiratory syncytial virus vs influenza in adults hospitalized with acute respiratory illness from a prospective multicenter study. Clin Infect Dis 2023; 76(11): 1980-8.
  5. Janbakhsh A, Naghibifar Z, Eskandari S, Mohseniafshar Z, Zamanian MH. Comparison of the Logical Use of Parenteral Antibiotics Before and After the Implementation of the Stewardship Program. J Kermanshah Univ Med Sci 2021; 25(4): e117832.
  6. Du W-Y, Yin C-N, Wang H-T, Li Z-W, Wang W-J, Xue F-Z, et al. Infectious diseases among elderly persons: Results from a population-based observational study in Shandong province, China, 2013-2017. J Glob Health 2021; 11: 08010.
  7. Zare Bidaki M, Azarkar Z, Sharifzadeh G, Ebrahim Zadeh A. An evaluation of infection types and the complications in hospitalized elders admitted in ICU wards [in Persian]. Salmand: Iranian Journal of Ageing 2020; 15(1): 118-29.
  8. Janbakhsh A, Naghipour A, Afshar ZM, Balvandi M, Naghibifar Z. The prevalence of nosocomial infections in imam reza hospital of Kermanshah, Iran, during 2019-2020. J Kermanshah Univ Med Sci 2023; 27(3): e138126.
  9. Volpe M, Battistoni A, Rubattu S, Tocci G. Hypertension in the elderly: which are the blood pressure threshold values? Eur Heart J Suppl 2019; 21(Suppl B): B105-B6.
  10. Zhang W-l, Cai J. STEP to blood pressure management of elderly hypertension: evidence from Asia. Hypertens Res 2022; 45(4): 576-82.
  11. Wang H-f, LI Y-f, PAN J-j, Aiguo Y, RuoLin W, Wei F, et al. Clinical symptoms and severity of elderly COVID-19 patients infected with different SARS-CoV-2 variants. Chinese Journal of Public Health. 2022; 38(8): 968-74.
  12. Li J, Huang DQ, Zou B, Yang H, Hui WZ, Rui F, et al. Epidemiology of COVID‐19: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of clinical characteristics, risk factors, and outcomes. J Med Virol 2021; 93(3): 1449-58.
  13. Esme M, Topeli A, Yavuz BB, Akova M. Infections in the elderly critically-ill patients. Front Med (Lausanne) 2019; 6: 118.
  14. Kouhpeikar H, Khosaravizade Tabasi H, Khazir Z, Naghipour A, Mohammadi Moghadam H, Forouzanfar H, et al. Statin use in COVID-19 hospitalized patients and outcomes: a retrospective study. Front Cardiovasc Med 2022; 9: 820260.
  15. Kouhpeikar H, Khazir Z, Naghipour A, Tabasi HK, Khezri MT, Abdollai M, et al. Red cell distribution width as a prognostic indicator for mortality and ICU admission in patients with COVID-19. Adv Exp Med Biol 2023: 1412: 225-35.
  16. Naghibifar Z, Janbakhsh A, Shirvani M, Naghipour A. The effects of blood group types on the mortality and survival of patients with COVID-19 infection. J Kermanshah Univ Med Sci 2023; 27(4): e138949.
Journal of Isfahan Medical School
Volume 43, Issue 808
4th Week, May
May and June 2025
Pages 219-223

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 10 June 2024
  • Accept Date: 08 April 2025

Share

How to cite

Statistics