Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33804890›Full record

ArticleJournal of clinical medicine2021

Undetected Causes of Death in Hospitalized Elderly with COVID-19: Lessons from Autopsy.

Astrid Malézieux-Picard, Cecilia Ferrer Soler, David De Macedo Ferreira, Emilie Gaud-Luethi, Christine Serratrice, Aline Mendes, Dina Zekry, Gabriel Gold, Johannes Alexander Lobrinus, Grégoire Arnoux and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of clinical medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 33% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Astrid Malézieux-PicardDivision of Internal Medicine for the Aged, Department of Rehabilitation and Geriatrics, University Hospitals of Geneva, Hôpital des Trois-Chêne, 1226 Thônex-Genève, Switzerland.
Cecilia Ferrer SolerDivision of Geriatrics, Department of Rehabilitation and Geriatrics, University Hospitals of Geneva, Hôpital des Trois-Chêne, 1226 Thônex-Genève, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-7654-6144
David De Macedo FerreiraDivision of Internal Medicine for the Aged, Department of Rehabilitation and Geriatrics, University Hospitals of Geneva, Hôpital des Trois-Chêne, 1226 Thônex-Genève, Switzerland.
Emilie Gaud-LuethiDivision of Geriatrics, Department of Rehabilitation and Geriatrics, University Hospitals of Geneva, Hôpital des Trois-Chêne, 1226 Thônex-Genève, Switzerland.
Christine SerratriceDivision of Internal Medicine for the Aged, Department of Rehabilitation and Geriatrics, University Hospitals of Geneva, Hôpital des Trois-Chêne, 1226 Thônex-Genève, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0001-9940-4686
Aline MendesDivision of Geriatrics, Department of Rehabilitation and Geriatrics, University Hospitals of Geneva, Hôpital des Trois-Chêne, 1226 Thônex-Genève, Switzerland.
Dina ZekryDivision of Internal Medicine for the Aged, Department of Rehabilitation and Geriatrics, University Hospitals of Geneva, Hôpital des Trois-Chêne, 1226 Thônex-Genève, Switzerland.
Gabriel GoldDivision of Geriatrics, Department of Rehabilitation and Geriatrics, University Hospitals of Geneva, Hôpital des Trois-Chêne, 1226 Thônex-Genève, Switzerland.
Johannes Alexander LobrinusDivision of Pathology, University Hospitals of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
Grégoire ArnouxDivision of Pathology, University Hospitals of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
Fulvia SerraDivision of Pathology, University Hospitals of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
Virginie PrendkiDivision of Internal Medicine for the Aged, Department of Rehabilitation and Geriatrics, University Hospitals of Geneva, Hôpital des Trois-Chêne, 1226 Thônex-Genève, Switzerland.
Hôpital Beau-Séjour · CHUniversity Hospital of Geneva · CH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMechanisms and causes of death in older patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection are still poorly understood.

methodsWe conducted in a retrospective monocentric study, a clinical chart review and post-mortem examination of patients aged 75 years and older hospitalized in acute care and positive for SARS-CoV-2. Full body autopsy and correlation with clinical findings and suspected causes of death were done.

resultsAutopsies were performed in 12 patients (median age 85 years; median of 4 comorbidities, mainly hypertension and cardiovascular disease). All cases showed exudative or proliferative phases of alveolar damage and/or a pattern of organizing pneumonia. Causes of death were concordant in 6 cases (50%), and undetected diagnoses were found in 6. Five patients died from hypoxemic respiratory failure due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), five had another associated diagnosis and two died from alternative causes. Deaths that occurred in the second week were related to SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia whereas those occurring earlier were related mainly to heart failure and those occurring later to complications.

conclusionsAlthough COVID-19 hypoxemic respiratory failure was the most common cause of death, post-mortem pathological examination revealed that acute decompensation from chronic comorbidities during the first week of COVID-19 and complications in the third week contributed to mortality.

Indexed as

autopsyCOVID-19elderly patients

Identifiers

PMID33804890
PMCPMC8037274
OpenAlexW3136649670

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.