Temporal trends in emergency admissions for diabetic ketoacidosis in people with diabetes in England before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based study
Study found a rise in all hospital admissions with diabetic ketoacidosis during the first wave (n=8553), post-first wave (n=8729), and second wave (n=10,235) of the COVID-19 pandemic in England, compared with mean numbers for matched time periods over the preceding 3 years.
Source:
The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology
SPS commentary:
According to a commentary, patients admitted to hospital with severe hyperglycaemia and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) with COVID-19 infection have been shown to have increased severity of complications and a higher rate of mortality compared with patients without COVID-19. It notes that the increased rates of hospitalisations for DKA in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes during the pandemic highlight the need to be vigilant in patients with COVID-19. It also suggests that the trend of increasing DKA admissions that started before the pandemic has been exacerbated by COVID-19, particularly in patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes.