Assessment of lung involvement using HRCT among vaccinated and non-vaccinated elderly COVID-19 patients admitted in a designated hospital, Tamil Nadu – A retrospective study

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic is considered one of the most devastating situations globally, the worst affected were the senior citizens. A number of initiatives were carried out to control the COVID-19 pandemic; one such important measure is the development of COVID-19 vaccines to prevent the disease. But the continuous emergence of new SARS-COV2 variants (antigenic drift) and its demographic variation in virulence makes the vaccine’s efficacy questionable. This study is intended to evaluate the association between the degree of lung involvement and the effectiveness of vaccination against the disease in cases admitted to a designated hospital in Tamil Nadu. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A hospital records-based-retrospective research was conducted among COVID-19 patients admitted from the 1(st) of April 2021 to the 31(st) of May 2021, and information was gathered regarding their vaccination status, comorbid conditions, and CT severity score (CTSS) in the HRCT lung report. A consecutive sampling technique was used to choose the study participants; about 120 participants were included in the study. The Chi-square test and Fisher’s extract test were used to evaluate the hypothesis. The relationship between a dependent variable and independent factors was estimated using multiple linear regression. RESULTS: Among 120 participants, about 60.2% were males and 39.8% were females. Vaccination status and comorbid conditions had a significant association with severe lung involvement in COVID-19 patients. CONCLUSION: Non-vaccinated patients had severe lung involvement based on the HRCT lung scan findings than the vaccinated patients. To reduce mortality, it is essential to ensure universal coverage of COVID-19 vaccination.