Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction

COVID-19 is an emerging disease caused by the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that has overburdened healthcare worldwide. In Portugal, schedule appointments were cancelled, postponed or changed to tele-consultation. The objective of the study is to assess the impact of the pandemic on the use of Emergency Department (ED) by diabetic patients.

Material and methods

Retrospective monocentric study of the ED demand by diabetic patients from the 1^st March to the 30^th of June of 2020, compared to the same period in 2019. Data collection was performed using discharge diagnosis according to ICD-9, and divided in four different groups: ’decompensated diabetes’, ’diabetes complications’, ’severe diabetes complications’. Chi-Squared test was used to compare the ED demand by the different diagnosis.

Results

The demand for acute care by diabetic patients diminished by 36.3% in 2020 compared to 2019. Cases of hypoglycemia and decompensated diabetes mellitus decreased in 2020 compared to 2019 (41.2% vs 33.1%, P = 0.137; 25.5% vs 21.5% in 2020, P = 0.409). On the other hand, complications of diabetes and serious complications of diabetes increased in 2020 (25.5%% vs 36.2%, P = 0.037; 7.8% vs 9.2%, P = 0.655). 23.8% of patients were hospitalized in 2020 vs 18.6% in 2019 (P = 0.251).

Conclusion

There was a decrease in the demand for urgent care by diabetic patients. However, in 2020 patients had more severe complications and a greater need for hospitalization. This is in line with other published studies. Long-term follow-up is needed to conclude if interruption in healthcare assistance has resulted in worsening of diabetic patients’ health.