The association between HbA1C and outcomes in COVID-19 patients

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is an infectious disease caused by the newly discovered virus (SARS-CoV-2). Some patients with COVID-19 develop severe disease that is life-threatening and leads to ICU admission. Diabetes is a proposed risk factor in development of SARS-CoV-2 infection and might be associated with the prognosis of COVID-19. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between elevated glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C) levels, and its association in COVID-19 patients. METHODS: All data ware retrospectively collected from electronic health records of COVID-19 patients on day 1 of admission to our ICUs between March 1st and May 30th, 2020. Data were used to investigate the relationship between elevated HbA1C levels, hospital and ICU length of stay (LOS), and ventilator free days. RESULTS: Out of 79 patients with COVID-19, a total of 29 patients with HbA1C results were included. They were divided into two groups group A with HbA1C level greater or equal to 6%, and group B with HbA1C less than 6%. A one side t test was preformed to analyze if these groups of patients had a significantly difference in vent free days, ICU LOS and hospital LOS. A significant difference was found in all 3 categories. Compared with group B patients, group A patients had significantly longer hospital LOS (22.83 ± 17.6, p < 0.05), ICU LOS (16.48 ± 15.7, p < 0.05) and shorter ventilator free days (6.56 ± 10.1, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Elevated HbA1C level greater than or equal to 6% is significantly associated with longer hospital, ICU LOS, and shorter ventilator free days in COVID-19 patients. These findings should be further investigated in large multicenter prospective studies.