ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has changed the nature of medical consultations, emphasizing virtual patient counselling, with relevance for patients with diabetes insipidus (DI) or hyponatraemia. The main complication of desmopressin treatment in DI is dilutional hyponatraemia. Since plasma sodium monitoring is not always possible in times of COVID-19, we recommend to delay the desmopressin dose once a week until aquaresis occurs allowing excess retained water to be excreted. Patients should measure their body weight daily. Patients with DI admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 have a high risk for mortality due to volume depletion. Specialists must supervise fluid replacement and dosing of desmopressin. Patients after pituitary surgery should drink to thirst and measure their body weight daily to early recognize the development of postoperative SIAD. They should know hyponatraemia symptoms. Hyponatraemia in COVID-19 is common with a prevalence of 20-30% and is mostly due to SIAD or hypovolaemia. It mirrors disease severity and is an early predictor of mortality. Hypernatraemia may also develop in COVID-19 patients, with a prevalence of 3-5%, especially in ICU, and derives from different multifactorial reasons, for example, due to insensible water losses from pyrexia, increased respiration rate and use of diuretics. Hypernatraemic dehydration may contribute to the high risk of acute kidney injury in COVID-19. IV fluid replacement should be administered with caution in severe cases of COVID-19 because of the risk of pulmonary oedema.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/epidemiology , Diabetes Insipidus/therapy , Endocrinology/standards , Hyponatremia/therapy , Ambulatory Care/methods , Ambulatory Care/standards , Consensus , Diabetes Insipidus/epidemiology , Diabetes Insipidus/pathology , Distance Counseling/methods , Distance Counseling/standards , Endocrinology/history , Endocrinology/trends , Expert Testimony , History, 21st Century , Hospitalization/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Hyponatremia/epidemiology , Hyponatremia/pathology , Pandemics , Practice Patterns, Physicians'/history , Practice Patterns, Physicians'/standards , Practice Patterns, Physicians'/trends , SARS-CoV-2 , Severity of Illness Index , Telemedicine/history , Telemedicine/methods , Telemedicine/standardsABSTRACT
The Covid-19 pandemic confronted us with unknown clinical pictures, also in diabetology and endocrinology. Sharing clinical experiences is therefore of enormous importance. Actually, information about the care given in the Covid-19 ward (in contrast to that provided in the Emergency Room/ICU) is still sparse. The last weeks we built experience and gathered knowledge while giving hospital care to patients who had a pre-existent endocrine disease (and diabetes; most patients suffered from a type two diabetes). In our contribution we presented our insights obtained from this intensive period obtained in the Covid-19 ward.
Subject(s)
Coronavirus Infections/therapy , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/drug therapy , Hyperglycemia/drug therapy , Hypoglycemic Agents/therapeutic use , Insulin/therapeutic use , Pneumonia, Viral/therapy , Adrenal Insufficiency/complications , Adrenal Insufficiency/drug therapy , Belgium , Betacoronavirus , Blood Glucose/metabolism , COVID-19 , Coronavirus Infections/complications , Coronavirus Infections/metabolism , Diabetes Complications , Diabetes Insipidus/complications , Diabetes Insipidus/therapy , Diabetes Mellitus/drug therapy , Diabetes Mellitus/metabolism , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/complications , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/metabolism , Disease Management , Glycated Hemoglobin/metabolism , Hospital Units , Hospitalization , Humans , Hyperglycemia/etiology , Hyperglycemia/metabolism , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral/complications , Pneumonia, Viral/metabolism , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has changed the nature of medical consultations, emphasizing virtual patient counseling, with relevance for patients with diabetes insipidus (DI) or hyponatraemia. The main complication of desmopressin treatment in DI is dilutional hyponatraemia. Since plasma sodium monitoring is not always possible in times of COVID-19, we recommend to delay the desmopressin dose once a week until aquaresis occurs allowing excess retained water to be excreted. Patients should measure their body weight daily. Patients with DI admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 have a high risk for mortality due to volume depletion. Specialists must supervise fluid replacement and dosing of desmopressin. Patients after pituitary surgery should drink to thirst and measure their body weight daily to early recognize the development of the postoperative syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis (SIAD). They should know hyponatraemia symptoms. The prevalence of hyponatraemia in patients with pneumonia due to COVID-19 is not yet known, but seems to be low. In contrast, hypernatraemia may develop in COVID-19 patients in ICU, from different multifactorial reasons, for example, due to insensible water losses from pyrexia, increased respiration rate and use of diuretics. Hypernatraemic dehydration may contribute to the high risk of acute kidney injury in COVID-19. IV fluid replacement should be administered with caution in severe cases of COVID-19 because of the risk of pulmonary oedema.