Open AccessThe impact of COVID-19 first wave on long term care facilities of an Italian Province: an historical reference
Author(s) -
Andrea Tramarin,
Nicola Gennaro,
Giancarlo Dal Grande,
Luciana Bragagnolo,
M. Carta,
Davide Giavarina,
Michela Pascarella,
Mario Rassu,
Antonio Matteazzi,
Giampaolo Stopazzolo
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
geriatric care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2465-1397
pISSN - 2465-1109
DOI - 10.4081/gc.2021.9654
Subject(s) - epidemiology , pandemic , medicine , outbreak , asymptomatic , covid-19 , population , disease , gerontology , demography , long term care , pediatrics , environmental health , infectious disease (medical specialty) , virology , psychiatry , sociology
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic will leave a profound imprint in the collective memory of humanity. In Italy, Long-Term Care Facilities (LTCFs) have seen a disproportionally high number of deaths during and the COVID-19 pandemic and, certainly, they may be considered as its epicenter. Aiming to leave a symbolic mark of what the pandemic did in these care settings, we report on an outbreak in a single LTCF where, 53 out of 64 residents, resulted infected. Our narration is based on an epidemiological field investigation together with a calendar of passages through the stages of disease in the infected population. We found an age-gradient in all clinical and epidemiological variables explored such as symptoms onset, illness severity, recovery from symptoms and deaths. According to the disease staging, 26 (49%) were asymptomatic; 9 (17%) had a mild disease; 7 (13%) a moderate stage and 11 (21%) a severe illness severity of whom 10 died. For a more comprehensive description of the impact of the pandemic on LTCFs, we compared the standard mortality ratio (SMR) in the first six months of 2020 to that of 2018 and 2019 in all the 34 facilities of the Vicenza province. Overall, there was a SMR higher 60% than the equivalent period of the previous years.