Differences in the Clinical Course of COVID-19 in Patients Hospitalized in the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 Seasons
<b>Background/Objectives</b>: The aim of this analysis of data from the multi-year nationwide SARSTer program in Poland was to compare the clinical presentation and course of COVID-19 in the last two infectious seasons. <b>Methods</b>: Clinical data from 719 consecutive patients hospitalized between April 2023 and March 2024 were compared with data from 360 patients hospitalized between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. <b>Results</b>: In the 2023/2024 season, hospitalizations due to COVID-19 occurred primarily between September and January, and in the 2024/2025 season, the majority of hospitalizations occurred between July and November. In the 2024/2025 season, we documented a change in the age structure, with an increasing predominance of hospitalized patients over 70 years of age (68% vs. 60% in 2023/2024), a milder disease manifestation, reflected in a significantly lower percentage of patients with pulmonary lesions (19% vs. 24%), an improvement in the clinical course of the disease, reflected in a halving of the number of hospitalizations, a significantly higher percentage of patients with clinical improvement in subsequent weeks of hospitalization, including those discharged from the hospital within the first week (39% vs. 30%), and a significantly lower mortality rate (4.7% vs. 7.9%), especially among patients over 70 years of age (5.4% vs. 10.4%). This indicates that the trend of a milder disease course initiated by the emergence of the Omicron variant continues. <b>Conclusions</b>: In conclusion, our findings provide real-world clinical evidence of the evolution of the COVID-19 situation in the post-pandemic era.
Authors
- Katarzyna Sikorska (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5678-5669)
- Krystyna Dobrowolska (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0352-9893)
- Michał Brzdęk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1180-9230)
- Magdalena Rogalska (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9895-9361)
- Marta Rorat (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5318-4945)
- Justyna Dominika Kowalska (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1166-4462)
- Dorota Kozielewicz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4651-6443)
- Piotr Rzymski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4713-0801)
- Robert Flisiak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3394-1635)
- Anna M. Moniuszko-Malinowska (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3994-8785)
- Łukasz Supronowicz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7747-6187)
- Magdalena Stankiewicz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2608-1959)
- Damian Piotrowski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7044-2523)
- Włodzimierz Mazur (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9023-2670)
- Dorota Zarębska‐Michaluk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0938-1084)
Institutions
- Wrocław University of Science and Technology (PL)
- Poznan University of Medical Sciences (PL)
- Medical University of Lublin (PL)
- Medical University of Białystok (PL)
- Medical University of Silesia (PL)
- Jan Kochanowski University (PL)
- Medical University of Warsaw (PL)
- Nicolaus Copernicus University (PL)
- Medical University of Lodz (PL)
- Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz (PL)
- AGH University of Krakow (PL)
- Gdańsk Medical University (PL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Clinical Medicine
- Published
- 2025-08-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14175992
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.19