European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine

Background: Covid 19 still continues to affect millions worldwide. The risk of a new virulent strain is imminent. Covid binds to ACE receptor which is ubiquitous in human tissues. These receptors are highly concentrated in pancreatic islet cells which play a major role in glucose homeostasis. Aim of the work: To evaluate the effect of covid 19 on blood sugar levels and to correlate blood sugar variations with disease severity and inflammatory markers (Ferritin, LDH, ESR, D Dimer, Procalcitonin) in Non diabetic Covid 19 patients. Patients and methods: In this single centre observational study, 400 patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were enrolled for the study and categorised into asymptomatic, ILI and SARI. Data was collected by clinical examination, case sheets and lab investigations. Blood glucose levels ,HbA1C ,ESR, CRP,LDH,D-DIMER Procalcitonin levels was measured at admission. Data was analysed using IBM-SPSS version 24.Mean and percentage was used in the calculation of incidence of acute diabetes and and sugar levels in different groups.Correlation between the sugar levels and inflammatory markers was done using pearson’s correlation coefficient. P<0.05 was considered significant for all statistical comparision. Results and Conclusion: A total of 400 COVID RTPCR positive non diabetic patients were included in the study. Acute diabetes (RBS>200,HbA1C <6.5) was seen in 2.75%(11) of the patients. Average RBS at admission in asymptomatic, ILI and SARI patients were respectively 103.33,122.95 and 157.9. Correlation between RBS at admission and inflammatory markers was done. Ferritin, LDH and ESR showed a statistically significant correlation with RBS at admission. So RBS at admission becomes a marker of Covid disease severity and hence helps categorising patients early into different severity groups and instilling adequate early treatment and referral