ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic affects many aspects of diabetes care including loss of access to healthcare due to clinic closures or insurance issues, fear of accessing care due to potential COVID exposures, and food/medication insecurity. Little is known about how ER visits for acute diabetic complications change as a result of this pandemic. An observational claims-based study was conducted to evaluate ER visits for DKA and hypoglycemia at the University of Michigan Health System. ER admissions with diagnoses of DKA and hypoglycemia were identified in 2020 and compared to 2017-19 (baseline). Since March 2020 (with the first COVID case identified in Michigan), the numbers of total ER admissions (both COVID and non-COVID related) have consistently remained lower than baseline (Figure 1A). While ER admission numbers for DKA (Figure 1B) and hypoglycemia (Figure 1C) were lower during the first wave of COVID (Mar-May), no consistent pattern has been observed in the second wave of COVID cases (Oct-). In summary, ER admissions for DKA and hypoglycemia decreased as much as 50% during the first, but not the second, waves of COVID cases. Further studies evaluating this complex psycho-social-medical phenomenon is in need.