Almost two thirds of people admitted to hospital following a positive Covid test were there “because of” the virus in four health board areas, according to new analysis.
Public Health Scotland (PHS) looked at hospital admissions within 14 days of a positive community-acquired Covid-19 infection in NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Grampian and NHS Tayside between December 2021 and January 2022.
It found that across the four NHS Boards, 64% of such acute hospital admissions (198 patients) were determined to be “because of” Covid-19.
The remaining 36% of cases (111 patients) were described as being coincidental “with” Covid-19.
The greatest number of people admitted to hospital “because of” Covid 19 were aged 45-64 years (30%).
This was in contrast to the greatest number of people in hospital “with” Covid-19, who were between the ages of 19 and 44 years (37%).
The PHS report also stated that there was a “marked difference in the age profile amongst people in hospital ‘because of’ Covid-19 compared to ‘with’ the virus.”
People in the 65 to 79 age group and the 80-plus age group accounted for 43% of all hospital admissions for Covid-19 but just 24% of people “with” a recent Covid-19 diagnosis.
The report stated: “People aged 80 years and older were more than twice as likely to be in hospital because of their Covid-19 diagnosis as compared to those recently diagnosed with Covid-19 but in hospital for a difference cause (22% versus 9%).”
The data for NHS Dumfries and Galloway was from between December 30 2021 to January 9 2022; NHS Board Greater Glasgow and Clyde between January 1 and 4 2022; NHS Grampian between December 30 2021 and January 11 2022; and Tayside figures between January 14 and 17 2022.
Data showing whether patients had the Omicron or Delta variant of coronavirus was available for just over half (55%) of cases.
Among those people admitted where the variant status was known, 83% in NHS Dumfries and Galloway and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde were infected with Omicron.
In NHS Grampian, 36% of cases in hospital where variant information was known had Omicron.
PHS said it is likely that the lower proportion of Omicron admissions in NHS Grampian “reflects the heterogeneity of the spread of the new variant across Scotland”.
Eight in 10 (80%) of samples in Tayside did not have variant information, however, data showed that six of the people in hospital in the area had the Omicron variant.
