Diabetic Ketoacidosis as a Feature of COVID-19 in Patients with Diabetes: A Case Series

Abstract

Studies on diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in COVID-19 patients are scarce. Infections are a precipitating factor for DKA in adults with diabetes. Over a 1-week period, five patients with diabetes presented to our hospital with DKA. SARS-CoV-2 infection was diagnosed in all five cases. All patients developed acute respiratory distress syndrome and died during this hospitalization. In this case series of male patients with diabetes, reluctance to present to the hospital, severe pneumonia, high C-reactive protein (29.35 ± 14.74 mg/dl), high white cell count (14,140 ± 5444 mm³), high D-dimer (2578 ± 1155 ng/ml), high lactate dehydrogenase (656 ± 249 U/L), and BMI {\textgreater}25 kg/m² may have contributed to their poor outcomes.