Claudia Patricia Cañadas-Aragón

Invasive candidiasis is a severe opportunistic infection whose incidence may be influenced by major disruptive events. The COVID-19 pandemic substantially altered hospital dynamics in Colombia. This study aimed to evaluate temporal trends, seasonality, and potential changes in the incidence of invasive candidiasis between 2019 and 2024. We conducted an observational time-series study using confirmed cases of invasive candidiasis from medium- and high-complexity hospitals in three major Colombian cities. Cases were aggregated quarterly. An interrupted time-series (ITS) analysis was performed. A total of 1294 cases were analyzed. An increasing trend was observed until mid-2022, followed by a decline during 2023. Seasonal decomposition revealed persistent seasonality with recurrent peaks in the second and fourth quarters. The ITS analysis did not demonstrate statistically significant changes in level or slope after the interruption (p > 0.05), although clinically relevant fluctuations were observed. No significant differences in temporal trends were identified across Candida species. Invasive candidiasis in Colombia exhibited a complex temporal evolution during and after the COVID-19 pandemic characterized by sustained seasonality and an increase followed by a decline. Although the ITS analysis did not identify statistically significant post-pandemic changes, the findings support the use of time-series models as valuable tools for epidemiological surveillance and trend monitoring.

Invasive candidiasis is a severe opportunistic infection whose incidence may be influenced by major disruptive events. The COVID-19 pandemic substantially altered hospital dynamics in Colombia. This study aimed to evaluate temporal trends, seasonality, and potential changes in the incidence of invasive candidiasis between 2019 and 2024. We conducted an observational time-series study using confirmed cases of invasive candidiasis from medium- and high-complexity hospitals in three major Colombian cities. Cases were aggregated quarterly. An interrupted time-series (ITS) analysis was performed. A total of 1,294 cases were analyzed. An increasing trend was observed until mid-2022, followed by a decline during 2023. Seasonal decomposition revealed persistent seasonality with recurrent peaks in the second and fourth quarters. The ITS analysis did not demonstrate statistically significant changes in level or slope after the interruption (p > 0.05), although clinically relevant fluctuations were observed. No significant differences in temporal trends were identified across Candida species. Invasive candidiasis in Colombia exhibited a complex temporal evolution during and after the COVID-19 pandemic characterized by sustained seasonality and an increase followed by a decline. Although the ITS analysis did not identify statistically significant post-pandemic changes, the findings support the use of time-series models as valuable tools for epidemiological surveillance and trend monitoring.

Introduction: Population aging represents one of the greatest challenges for healthcare systems worldwide. However, most studies describing the characteristics of this population have been conducted in community settings only. Objective: To describe the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of individuals aged 60 years and older hospitalized in a clinic in southwestern Colombia Materials and methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted using hospitalization data from patients aged 60 years and older admitted between 2021 and 2022 to the Clínica Sebastián de Belalcázar (Cali, Colombia). Information was obtained from the institution’s Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRGs) database, a patient grouping methodology based on criteria of clinical similarity and healthcare resource utilization. Results: A total of 3 130 hospital admissions were included in the analysis, corresponding to 2 527 patients. The median age was 79 years, and the median length of hospital stay was 5 days. Patients were female in 58.27% of the hospitalizations, admitted through the emergency department in 65.68%, and required medical management only in 64.15%. The median Charlson Comorbidity Index score was 2; in 77.42% of the hospitalizations, the patient had at least one comorbidity, in 69.90% the mortality risk was extreme, and in 55.7% the risk of prolonged stay was high. Readmission (defined as admission through the emergency department within 30 days of discharge from the last hospitalization for a related cause) was required in 411 hospitalizations. The most frequent diagnostic categories and DRGs were digestive system diseases (18.75%) and infectious diseases (16.67%), and COVID-19 (12.71%) and pneumonia and pneumonitis (4.31%), respectively. The mortality rate was 17.29% (n=437). Conclusion: Individuals aged 60 years and older hospitalized in an clinic in southwestern Colombia between 2021 and 2022 were characterized by a very advanced age and a slight female predominance. In most hospitalizations, patients were admitted through the emergency department and presented with at least one comorbidity and a high risk of mortality. Although the duration of hospitalization was shorter than that reported in the literature, the mortality rate was high.