Introduction:

Hyperglycemia on hospital admission may be a useful tool to predict poor outcomes in COVID-19 patients.

Objective:

To determine if hyperglycemia on hospital admission constitutes a prognostic factor for poor outcomes.

Methods:

An observational, analytical, retrospective cohort study was conducted at the Hospital Regional de Moquegua. Medical records of 640 randomly selected patients hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 during the first two waves of the pandemic were reviewed. Variables included poor outcomes, respiratory sequelae, admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and death. Hyperglycemia on admission was defined as blood glucose >140 mg/dL. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed using Poisson regression models with robust variances to find the crude and adjusted relative risks (RRa) with their respective 95% confidence intervals (CI95%).

Results:

Of the patients, 36.9% were 60 years or older, 58.9% were male, and 10.2% had diabetes mellitus. Hyperglycemia on admission was present in 34.7% of the patients. Hyperglycemia was significantly associated with poor outcomes (RRa = 5.65; CI95%: 3.72-8.62; p < 0.001), respiratory sequelae (RRa = 1.96; CI95%: 1.74-2.21; p < 0.001), ICU admission (RRa = 3.68; CI95%: 2.03-6.69; p < 0.001), and death (RRa = 1.57; CI95%: 1.22-2.02; p = 0.001).

Conclusion:

Hyperglycemia on admission is a significant prognostic factor for poor outcomes in COVID-19 patients. Careful monitoring of these patients is essential.

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