Role of Glycaemic Control in Predicting Severity of Illness in COVID 19 Patients with Diabetes Mellitus

Introduction: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID 19) pneumonia is a rapidly spreading disease and which causes morbidity and mortality of many patients. Diabetes mellitus is co-morbidity which is considered as the risk factor for COVID 19. Well-controlled diabetes is associated with better outcomes than poorly controlled diabetes. Measurement of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) is the standard method for assessing long term glycaemic control. Regardless of the level of hyperglycaemia, improvement in glycaemic control will lower the risk of diabetic complications. Aim: This study was conducted to identify the role of glycaemic control (HbA1c) in predicting the severity of illness in patients with COVID 19 pneumonia. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective observational study of (51 diabetic and 51 were non diabetic) patients at Kamineni Academy of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, India. The patients diagnosed with COVID 19 pneumonia, which includes both diabetics and non diabetics from June 2020 to September 2020. Patients age, sex, baseline HbA1c levels, and oxygen requirement during the hospital stay were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 22.0. The Chi-Square test was used to analyse qualitative data and p-value significant at level <0.05. Results: In the study among diabetics (n=51), 20 (39.2%) were on room air, 24 (47.1%) required intermittent oxygen support, 3 (5.9%) high flow oxygen, and 4 (7.8%) non invasive ventilator support. Among non diabetics (n=51), 28 (54.9%) were on room air, 18 (35.3%) on intermittent oxygen, 2 (3.9%) high flow oxygen, and 3 (5.9%) Non Invasive Ventilator (NIV) support. It was observed that patients with HbA1c measurements with poor glycaemic control required more oxygen support during treatment in diabetics (p-value:0.469) Conclusion: In the present study, patients with poor glycaemic control required insignificantly, more oxygen support than patients with good glycaemic control.