CT reveals influence of diabetes on COVID-19 severity

CT imaging reveals the influence of blood glucose levels on the severity of COVID-19, researchers have reported. A team led by Dan Lu, PhD, of Kunming Medical University in Yunnan, China, found that the quality of blood glucose control significantly correlated with patients' CT severity score, with higher blood glucose measured translating to higher severity of COVID-19's lung effects. The results were published April 23 in the Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition. "Previous research has shown that, compared with normal infected individuals, patients with diabetes exhibit more severe conditions in terms of clinical course and chest imaging and are more likely to develop critical COVID-19," the group noted. "In addition, those with poor blood glucose control have a worse prognosis." Lu's team investigated the effects of blood glucose levels on the severity of COVID-19 in a study that included 146 diabetic patients with the infection who presented at Yan'an Hospital in Kunming between December 2022 and January 2023. The patients were categorized into a "good" blood glucose control group (HbA1c less than 7%) and a "poor" blood glucose control group (HbA1c more than 7%). The investigators compared clinical data (i.e., blood lymphocyte, leukocyte, and C-reaction protein measures) and a total CT severity score to evaluate the severity of the COVID-19 infection. (A CT severity score of less than eight is mild; nine to 15, moderate, and higher than 15, severe.) The investi...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: CT Chest Radiology Source Type: news