Clinical Presentation of COVID19 in Dementia Patients

Objective No studies analyzing the role of dementia as a risk factor for mortality in patients affected by COVID-19. We assessed the prevalence, clinical presentation and outcomes of dementia among subjects hospitalized for COVID19 infection. Design Retrospective study. Setting COVID wards in Acute Hospital in Brescia province, Northern Italy. Participants We used data from 627 subjects admitted to Acute Medical wards with COVID 19 pneumonia. Measurements Clinical records of each patients admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of COVID19 infection were retrospectively analyzed. Diagnosis of dementia, modalities of onset of the COVID-19 infection, symptoms of presentation at the hospital and outcomes were recorded. Results Dementia was diagnosed in 82 patients (13.1%). The mortality rate was 62.2% (51/82) among patients affected by dementia compared to 26.2% (143/545) in subjects without dementia (p