COVID-19 and emergencies in patients with diabetes: two case reports

BACKGROUND: Maldives reported its first Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case on March 7th, 2020. Since then more than 9400 positive cases and 33 deaths have been reported. Recently studies have shown that COVID-19 patients with diabetes had a poor prognosis and a higher mortality rate when compared to the non-diabetic patients. Poorly controlled diabetic patients had a higher incidence of complications like diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HHS) which might have been precipitated by COVID-19. DKA and HHS are potentially lethal but preventable conditions. During this pandemic, although cases of uncontrolled diabetes are frequently reported, there is scarcity in reporting of cases with diabetic emergencies. CASE PRESENTATION: Case 1 was a 53-year old Asian male, admitted on Day 10th of illness with DKA with acute kidney injury, and Moderate COVID-19. Case 2 was a 72-year old Asian male, admitted with mild COVID-19 who developed HHS with acute kidney injury on day 9 of illness. Both patients were managed conservatively in intensive care unit, with intravenous fluids and insulin. CONCLUSION: Clinicians should focus on close monitoring of diabetic patients with COVID-19, to prevent diabetic emergencies like DKA and HHS. It is important to aggressively manage these conditions for a favorable outcome.