Metabolic Benefit of Teleconsultation for Diabetes Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A French Observational Prospective Study.

Aim: To investigate the impact of teleconsultation on glycemic control in patients with diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: In this observational prospective study, the main outcome was the comparison of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) between patients with or without teleconsultation at 6-month follow-up. Results: From March 17 to May 31, 2020, 610 patients were included, 456 were followed-up using Teleconsultation présent (TC+) and 154 not using No Teleconsultation (TC-). Patients of TC+ Group were younger, 57 ± 17 versus 65 ± 15.5 years (p < 0.001), with a lower body mass index, 28 ± 6.2 kg/m2 versus 30 ± 5.8 kg/m2, compared to those of TC- Group (p < 0.001). HbA1c were comparable between the two groups: 7.35 ± 0.27% for TC+ versus 7.48 ± 0.22% for TC- Group. At 6-month follow-up, HbA1c was lower in TC+ versus TC- Group: 7.21 ± 0.15% versus 7.6 ± 0.18% (p = 0.004). Conclusion: Our findings point toward the feasibility and usefulness of teleconsultation for the follow-up of patients with diabetes in such exceptional circumstances.

Feasibility of Real-Time Continuous Glucose Monitoring Telemetry System in an Inpatient Diabetes Unit: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Hospitalization of persons with diabetes in an inpatient diabetes unit is challenging, notably for patients having different profiles. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility and the benefit of a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) telemetry system to control glucose excursions in hospitalized patients with diabetes, according to their diabetes type and the reasons for their hospitalization. METHOD: A prospective pilot study was conducted in 53 insulin-requiring diabetes patients hospitalized in the general ward. Glucose was monitored using Guardian Connect (GC, Medtronic) to adopt insulin therapy. The time in range (TIR, target 70-180 mg/dL), the time below range (TBR), and the time above range (TAR) were recorded by GC between the start of hospitalization (SH) and end of hospitalization (EH), and analyzed according to the diabetes type (type 1 diabetes n = 28, type 2 diabetes n = 25) and the reasons for hospitalization (acute complications n = 35, therapeutic education n = 18). Patient and caregiver satisfaction was also assessed. RESULTS: In patients with type 2 diabetes and those hospitalized for acute complications, TIR significantly increased between the SH and EH, from 75.7% (95%CI 48.5-84.6) to 82.2% (95%CI 63.2-91.8) P = 0.043 and from 58.3% (95%CI 46.3-69.7) to 66.4% (95%CI 55.6-75.5) P = 0.031, respectively, and TAR significantly decreased, with no change in TBR. In patients with diabetes hospitalized for therapeutic education, TBR significantly decreased from 3.4% (95%CI 0-9.4) to 0% (95%CI 0-3.8) P = 0.037. Finally, 94% of patients and caregivers deemed the GC system useful. CONCLUSIONS: CGM telemetry system use is feasible and well accepted in patients hospitalized in diabetes care unit and could be useful to improve therapeutic education and metabolic control, especially for specific homogenous populations with diabetes.

Association between Death at Day 28 and Components of Microvascular Disease of with Diabetes Hospitalized for Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19): The CORONADO Study

The prognostic role of microvascular complications (MVC) for all-cause death in patients with diabetes hospitalized for COVID-19 has been suggested. However, no detailed analysis of the microvascular burden is available so far. The CORONADO initiative is a French nationwide multicentre study of patients with diabetes hospitalized for COVID-19. The patients were enrolled after hospital admission from 03/10/2020 to 04/10/2020. MVC were defined as severe diabetic retinopathy (DR) and/or diabetic kidney disease (DKD, eGFR<60ml/min/1.73m2 and/or ACR>300mg/g) and/or diabetic foot ulcer (DFU). We analysed the association of MVC with death within 28 days after admission. The status for all 3 MVC was ascertained for 1755 participants including 1048 (60%) free of MVC. Patients with MVC were older, had lower BMI, HbA1c, AST/ALT concentration, lymphocyte and platelet counts, while sex, type of diabetes and CRP were not significantly different. Patients with any MVC had a sex- and age-adjusted OR for death of 2.54 (95%CI: 1.94-3.31, P<0.0001) compared to those without MVC. Figure details ORs for the different combinations of MVC. In patients with diabetes hospitalised for COVID-19, the microvascular burden associated with death within 28 days is dominated by DKD and DFU.