High blood sugar may portend a rocky course for COVID-19 patients who seek hospital care, even if they do not have diabetes, according to a new study of 11,000 COVID-19 patients in Spain. None of the patients was critically ill on admission. But those who arrived with above-normal blood sugar levels had higher odds of dying in the hospital - regardless of whether they were diabetic. Overall, 20% of the patients died while hospitalized, including 16% of individuals with blood sugar below 140 mg/dL at admission, 34% of those with levels of 140 to 180 mg/dL, and 41% of patients with levels above 180 mg/dL. (A level of 200 mg/dL or higher on a non-fasting test indicates diabetes.) After taking age and medical conditions into account, patients with the highest levels were 50% more likely to die in the hospital than patients with the lowest levels. People with elevated blood sugar were also at higher risk for intensive care unit admission and mechanical ventilation. In a report published on Tuesday in Annals of Medicine, the researchers say prompt control of blood sugar should be mandatory in the management of patients hospitalized with COVID-19, regardless of whether they have diabetes. —Reuters Staff Source
