Letter to the Editor Open Access
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Virol. Mar 25, 2022; 11(2): 111-112
Published online Mar 25, 2022. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v11.i2.111
Novel appearance of hyperglycemia/diabetes, associated with COVID-19
Ioannis Ilias, Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism, Elena Venizelou Hospital, Athens GR-11521, Greece
ORCID number: Ioannis Ilias (0000-0001-5718-7441).
Author contributions: Ilias Ι conceived and wrote this letter.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author declares no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ioannis Ilias, MD, PhD, Consultant Physician-Scientist, Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism, Elena Venizelou Hospital, 2 Elena Venizelou Sq., Athens GR-11521, Greece. iiliasmd@yahoo.com
Received: September 29, 2021
Peer-review started: September 29, 2021
First decision: January 12, 2022
Revised: January 12, 2022
Accepted: March 15, 2022
Article in press: March 15, 2022
Published online: March 25, 2022
Processing time: 173 Days and 15.3 Hours

Abstract

In a recent meta-analysis the prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated hyperglycemia was 25%, and that of COVID-19-associated new-onset diabetes was 19%. An association between hyperglycemia or new-onset diabetes and COVID-19 has been suggested. In a recent relevant study of critically and non-critically ill patients with COVID-19, we found that indeed beta-cell function was compromised in critically ill patients with COVID-19 and that these patients showed a high glycemic gap. Nevertheless, one quarter of critically ill patients with no history of diabetes have stress hyperglycemia, a finding which could obscure the prevalence of hyperglycemia or new-onset diabetes that could be attributed to COVID-19 per se.

Key Words: Blood glucose; Pandemics; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Humans; Hyperglycemia; Hospitalization

Core Tip: An association between hyperglycemia or new-onset diabetes and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been suggested. Nevertheless, one quarter of critically ill patients with no history of diabetes have stress hyperglycemia, a finding which could obscure the prevalence of hyperglycemia or new-onset diabetes that could be attributed to COVID-19 per se.
TO THE EDITOR

We have read with great interest the work by Shrestha et al[1] regarding new-onset hyperglycemia/ diabetes (DM) in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). With an erudite meta-analysis the authors found that the pooled prevalence of COVID-19-associated hyperglycemia was 25.23% and that the prevalence of COVID-19-associated new-onset DM was 19.70%[1].

An association between hyperglycemia/new-onset DM and COVID-19 has been suggested[2], via decreased insulin secretion and increased insulin resistance[2,3]. In a recent relevant study, of critically and non-critically ill patients with COVID-19, we found that indeed beta cell function (based on glucose and insulin measurements and using the Homeostasis Model Assessment HOMA2 estimate of steady state beta cell function[4]) was compromised in critically ill patients with COVID-19. Furthermore, these patients showed a high glycemic gap (based on admission glucose and glycated hemoglobin measurements)[5]. Nevertheless, we acknowledged that on average, 25% of critically ill patients with no history of DM have stress hyperglycemia[5-7], a finding which could obscure the prevalence of hyperglycemia/new-onset DM that could be attributed to COVID-19 per se.

Thus, it would be interesting if the results of the study by Shrestha et al[1] were presented separately-if possible-for critically and non-critically ill patients with COVID-19 and compared to non-COVID-19 patients.

Footnotes

Provenance and peer review: Invited article; Externally peer reviewed.

Peer-review model: Single blind

Specialty type: Virology

Country/Territory of origin: Greece

Peer-review report’s scientific quality classification

Grade A (Excellent): A

Grade B (Very good): B

Grade C (Good): C

Grade D (Fair): D

Grade E (Poor): 0

P-Reviewer: Gonzalez FM, Chile; Gupta S, United States; Wang TJ, China S-Editor: Fan JR L-Editor: A P-Editor: Fan JR

References
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