Diabetic Ketoacidosis Precipitated by COVID-19 in Patients Without Respiratory Symptoms: Case Reports

Jose L Meza; Abel Triana; Ivan De Avila; Gaspar Del Rio-Pertuz; Diego Viasus

doi:10.7759/cureus.10031

Diabetic Ketoacidosis Precipitated by COVID-19 in Patients Without Respiratory Symptoms: Case Reports

Cureus. 2020 Aug 25;12(8):e10031. doi: 10.7759/cureus.10031.

Authors

Jose L Meza¹, Abel Triana¹, Ivan De Avila¹, Gaspar Del Rio-Pertuz², Diego Viasus³

Affiliations

¹ Emergency, Hospital Universidad del Norte, Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla, COL.
² Internal Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, USA.
³ Infectious Diseases, Hospital Universidad del Norte, Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla, COL.

Abstract

Worse outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been documented in older patients with comorbidities, especially in those with diabetes mellitus (DM). However, the clinical picture and risk factors of COVID-19 in DM is still emerging. Here, we report four cases of severe COVID-19 patients with acute diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) without respiratory symptoms, with viral and bacterial coinfection, and poor clinical outcomes. Higher monitoring of patients with DM and COVID-19 is advised, as well as rapid and accurate diagnostic tests and treatment.

Keywords: coinfection; covid-19; diabetes; ketoacidosis; mortality; sars-cov-2.

Publication types

Case Reports