%0 Journal Article %A IOANNIS ILIAS %A EDISON JAHAJ %A STYLIANOS KOKKORIS %A DIMITRIOS ZERVAKIS %A PRODROMOS TEMPERIKIDIS %A ELENI MAGIRA %A MARIA PRATIKAKI %A ALICE G. VASSILIOU %A CHRISTINA ROUTSI %A ANASTASIA KOTANIDOU %A IOANNA DIMOPOULOU %T Clinical Study of Hyperglycemia and SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Intensive Care Unit Patients %D 2020 %R 10.21873/invivo.12136 %J In Vivo %P 3029-3032 %V 34 %N 5 %X Background/Aim: Reports indicate that coronaviridae may inhibit insulin secretion. In this report we aimed to describe the course of glycemia in critically ill patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Patients and Methods: We studied 36 SARS-CoV-2 patients (with no history of diabetes) in one intensive care unit (ICU). All the patients were admitted for hypoxemic respiratory failure; all but four required mechanical ventilation. The mean (±SD) age of the patients was 64.7 (9.7) years; 27 were men; the mean (±SD) duration of ICU stay was 12.9 (8.3 days). Results: Twenty of 36 patients presented with hyperglycemia; brief intravenous infusions of short-acting insulin were administered in six patients. As of May 29 2020, 11 patients had died (seven with hyperglycemia). In 17 patients the Hyperglycemia Index [HGI; defined as the area under the curve of (hyper)glycemia level*time (h) divided by the total time in the ICU] was <16.21 mg/dl (0.90 mmol/l), whereas in three patients the HGI was ≥16.21 mg/dl (0.90 mol/l) and <32.25 mg/dl (1.79 mmol/l). Conclusion: In our series of ICU patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, and no history of diabetes, a substantial number of patients had hyperglycemia, to a higher degree than would be expected by the stress of critical illness, lending credence to reports that speculated a tentative association between SARS-CoV-2 and hyperglycemia. This finding is important, since hyperglycemia can lead to further infectious complications. %U https://iv.iiarjournals.org/content/invivo/34/5/3029.full.pdf