ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Blood sugar (BS) has been proposed as a prognostic factor for COVID-19. In this historical cohort study we evaluated the association between admission time BS and COVID-19 outcome. METHODS: First, hospitalized COVID-19 patients were divided into three groups; Non-diabetic patients with BS < 140 mg/dl (N = 394), non-diabetic patients with BS ≥ 140 mg/dl (N = 113) and diabetic patients (N = 315). Mortality, ICU admission, and length of hospital stay were compared between groups and odds ratio was adjusted using logistic regression. RESULTS: After adjustment with pre-existing conditions and drugs, it was shown that non-diabetic patients with BS ≥ 140 mg/dl are at increased risk of mortality (aOR 1.89 (0.99-3.57)) and ICU admission (aOR 2.62 (1.49-4.59)) even more than diabetic patients (aOR 1.72 (1.07-2.78) for mortality and aOR 2.28 (1.47-3.54) for ICU admission. CONCLUSIONS: Admission time hyperglycemia predicts worse outcome of COVID-19 and BS ≥ 140 mg/dl is associated with a markedly increase in ICU admission and mortality.