Hyperglycemia at hospital admission is associated with severity of the prognosis in patients hospitalized for COVID-19: The pisa COVID-19 study

OBJECTIVE To explore whether at-admission hyperglycemia is associated with worse outcomes in patients hospitalized for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Hospitalized COVID-19 patients (N = 271) were subdivided based on at-admission glycemic status: 1) glucose levels RESULTS Neutrophils were higher and lymphocytes and PaO2/FiO2 lower in HG than in DM and NG patients. DM and HG patients had higher D-dimer and worse inflammatory profile. Mortality was greater in HG (39.4% vs. 16.8%; unadjusted hazard ratio [HR] 2.20, 95% CI 1.27–3.81, P = 0.005) than in NG (16.8%) and marginally so in DM (28.6%; 1.73, 0.92–3.25, P = 0.086) patients. Upon multiple adjustments, only HG remained an independent predictor (HR 1.80, 95% CI 1.03–3.15, P = 0.04). After stratification by quintile of glucose levels, mortality was higher in quintile 4 (Q4) (3.57, 1.46–8.76, P = 0.005) and marginally in Q5 (29.6%) (2.32, 0.91–5.96, P = 0.079) vs. Q1. CONCLUSIONS Hyperglycemia is an independent factor associated with severe prognosis in people hospitalized for COVID-19.