COVID 19 infection has taken millions of lives to date but knowledge regarding its occurrence is still new and evolving. Among the consistent data gathered over the past few months since it was declared as a pandemic by the WHO is that patients with underlying comorbidities, notably diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and obesity have worse clinical course and outcomes. The time frame when this study was conducted was during the period when the Philippines experienced the so- called “first wave” of the coronavirus in the local setting. This was also the time when any established drug therapy for COVID-19 infection was yet to be supported by any randomized controlled trials. Of the 12 patients enrolled in the case series, all of them had one or more underlying illnesses; the most common of which were hypertension, Vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency and cancer. Majority of the patients had an HbA1c level between 7.0%-8.0%, while an average HbA1c level of 7.5% was seen in those who expired. A greater proportion of patients (33%) were classified under obese category 1; this was followed by 25% of patients who are overweight. However, 50% of the patients who expired were morbidly obese. Treatment regimens for both diabetes mellitus and COVID-19 were also taken into consideration. Basal plus rescue dose regimen was the most common therapy comprising 50% of the patients. Only one patient was placed on insulin drip. For COVID-19 regimen, 40% of patients received combination antiviral therapy (ritonavir/lopinavir/oseltamivir) plus hydroxychloroquine. Half of the mortality seen in this study were given the combination of antiviral plus hydroxychloroquine. Thirty-Five percent of patients eventually expired, and these were also the set of patients who were placed on renal replacement therapy, inotropic support and mechanical ventilation during the course of their illness.
Diabetes Mellitus ; COVID-19