COVID-19-related deaths in residential care homes for elderly: The situation in Italy

Francesco Ventura; Andrea Molinelli; Rosario Barranco

doi:10.1016/j.jflm.2021.102179

COVID-19-related deaths in residential care homes for elderly: The situation in Italy

J Forensic Leg Med. 2021 May:80:102179. doi: 10.1016/j.jflm.2021.102179. Epub 2021 Apr 27.

Authors

Francesco Ventura¹, Andrea Molinelli², Rosario Barranco²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Legal and Forensic Medicine, University of Genova, via De' Toni 12, 16132, Genova, Italy. Electronic address: francesco.ventura@unige.it.
² Department of Legal and Forensic Medicine, University of Genova, via De' Toni 12, 16132, Genova, Italy.

Abstract

The whole population is susceptible to infection but elderly people with previous diseases are at greater risk. All these epidemiological data show that older age represents an important risk factor for infection and especially for mortality. In recent weeks an increase in mortality among the elderly has been observed in many Italian residential care homes. In these accommodations a worrying spread of COVID-19 cases has been ascertained. According to the ISS report, 7.4% of the total deaths in care homes for elderly involved patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection and 33.8% involved patients with flu-like symptoms. Herein, we discuss the dangerous spread of COVID-19 in residential care homes for elderly. In addition, we present a case of an elderly person admitted to a residential care home, whose COVID-19 diagnosis was performed only after death.

Keywords: COVID-19; Forensic medicine; Residential care homes.

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
COVID-19 / mortality*
COVID-19 Testing
Humans
Italy / epidemiology
Male
Nursing Homes*