Diabetes Management Delivery and Pregnancy Outcomes in Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus during the First Wave of the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic: A Single Reference Centre Report

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a rapid adaptation of healthcare services to secure medical care for many patients' groups. This includes women with Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). We evaluated the impacts of the first COVID-19 wave on parameters such as the GDM treatment, glycemic control and pregnancy outcomes. In this retrospective study from a reference diabetes centre (Krakow, Poland), we compared patient data from two different time periods: the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 - June 2020) and the preceding five months (October 2019 - February 2020). Data was collected from the medical records and telephone surveys. No patient was diagnosed with concomitant COVID-19. We included 155 women - Group 1 N=73 and Group 2 N= 82 from the COVID-19 pandemic period and non-COVID-19 period, respectively. During the COVID-19 pandemic, almost half of all GDM women (N1=36, 49.3%) used telemedicine as a method of contacting their diabetic specialist while this tool was not utilized in the earlier period. Moreover, these patients reported difficulties in performing blood glucose self-control more often (N1=20, 27.4% vs. N2=7, 8.5% p=0.002) and spent less time on diabetes education and training than the control group on average (N1=39, 53.4% vs. N2=9, 9.8% below 2 hours of training;p≤0.001). Glycemic control parameters were very similar and most analysed pregnancy outcomes occurred with comparable frequencies. Differences were found with respect to the incidence of prolonged labour which was more frequent in the COVID-19 period Group 1 (N1=12, 16.4% vs. N2=3, 3.7% p=0.007) whereas no episodes of pre-eclampsia were observed in this group (N1=0 vs. N2=7, 8.5% p=0.01) during this same time period. We report that the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic did not seem to have a negative impact on glycemic control and pregnancy outcomes in GDM women, in spite of difficulties in diabetes management delivery.

Diabetes Management Delivery and Pregnancy Outcomes in Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus during the First Wave of the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic: A Single-Reference Center Report.

OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a rapid adaptation of healthcare services to secure care for many patient groups. This includes women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). We evaluated the impacts of the first COVID-19 wave on parameters such as the GDM treatment, glycemic control, and pregnancy outcomes. METHODS: In this retrospective study from a reference diabetes center (Krakow, Poland), we compared patient data from two different time periods: the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020-June 2020) and the preceding five months (October 2019-February 2020). Data was collected from the medical records and telephone surveys. RESULTS: We included 155 consecutive women (group N1 = 73 and group N2 = 82 from the COVID-19 pandemic period and non-COVID-19 period, respectively). During the COVID-19 pandemic, almost half of all GDM women (N1 = 36, 49.3%) used telemedicine as a method of contacting their diabetic specialists while this tool was not utilized in the earlier period. Moreover, these patients reported difficulties in performing blood glucose self-control more often (N1 = 20, 27.4%, vs N2 = 7, 8.5%; p ≤ 0.01) and spent less time on diabetes education than the control group on average (N1 = 39, 53.4%, vs N2 = 9, 9.8% below 2 hours of training; p ≤ 0.01). Most analyzed glycemic parameters and pregnancy outcomes were similar. Differences were found with respect to the incidence of prolonged labor (N1 = 12, 16.4%, vs N2 = 3, 3.7%; p ≤ 0.01) and preeclampsia (N1 = 0 vs N2 = 7, 8.5%; p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: In this single-center observational study, the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic did not seem to have a negative impact on pregnancy outcomes in GDM women, despite the difficulties in diabetes management delivery.

Neurological symptoms in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 and their association with in-hospital mortality.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the spectrum of neurological symptoms in patients with COVID-19 during the first 14 days of hospitalisation and its association with in-hospital mortality. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We included 200 patients with RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 admitted to University Hospital in Krakow, Poland. In 164 patients, a detailed questionnaire concerning neurological symptoms and signs was performed prospectively within 14 days of hospitalisation. In the remaining 36 patients, such questionnaires were completed retrospectively based on daily observations in the Department of Neurology. RESULTS: During hospitalisation, 169 patients (84.5%) experienced neurological symptoms; the most common were: fatigue (62.5%), decreased mood (45.5%), myalgia (43.5%), and muscle weakness (42.5%). Patients who died during hospitalisation compared to the remainder were older (79 [70.5-88.5] vs. 63.5 [51-77] years, p = 0.001), and more often had decreased level of consciousness (50.0% vs. 9.3%, p < 0.001), delirium (33.3% vs. 4.4%, p < 0.001), arterial hypotension (50.0% vs. 19.6%, p = 0.005) or stroke during (18.8% vs. 3.3%, p = 0.026) or before hospitalisation (50.0% vs. 7.1, p < 0.001), whereas those who survived more often suffered from headache (42.1% vs. 0%, p = 0.012) or decreased mood (51.7% vs. 0%, p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Most hospitalised patients with COVID-19 experience neurological symptoms. Decreased level of consciousness, delirium, arterial hypotension, and stroke during or before hospitalisation increase the risk of in-hospital mortality.