In a recent study from the Mills-Peninsula Medical Center in San Mateo, California, researchers found that hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) and hypoglycemia (low blood pressure) are linked to poor outcomes in people with COVID-19.
The study is published in Diabetes Care. One author is David C. Klonoff, M.D.
In the study, the team used data from the Glytec national database for 1,544 patients with COVID-19 from 91 hospitals in 12 states.
Patients were stratified according to the achieved mean glucose category during days 2 to 3 in non-intensive care unit (ICU) patients or on day 2 in ICU patients.
The team examined the association between glucose category and hospital mortality.
They found that 18.1% of patients died in the hospital.
Among non-ICU patients, compared with blood glucose <7.77 mmol/L, severe hyperglycemia (>13.88 mmol/L) on days 2 to 3 was linked to high mortality.
This association was not strong for admission glucose.
In patients admitted directly to the ICU, increased mortality was seen in association with severe hyperglycemia on admission.
This association was not strong on day 2. There was also an association seen for hypoglycemia and increased mortality.
The researchers also found that severe high blood sugar early in the course of hospitalization in patients with COVID-19 admitted to a non-ICU setting was linked to a sevenfold increase in mortality risk.
The results suggest patients with COVID-19 should promptly receive treatment to improve glycemic control.
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