Severe hyperglycemia and insulin resistance in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a report of two cases

BACKGROUND: Severe insulin resistance is an uncommon finding in patients with type 2 diabetes but is often associated with difficult to managing blood glucose. While severe insulin resistance is most frequently seen in the setting of medication side effects or rare genetic conditions, this report of two cases highlights the presence of severe insulin resistance in the setting of severe COVID-19 and explores how this may contribute to the poor prognosis of patients with diabetes who become infected with SARS-CoV-2. CASE PRESENTATION: Here we present the cases of two African-American women with pre-existing type 2 diabetes who developed severe COVID-19 requiring mechanical ventilation and concurrent severe insulin resistance with total daily insulin dose requirements of greater than 5 unit/kg. Both patients received aggressive insulin infusion and subcutaneous insulin therapy to obtain adequate glucose management. As their COVID-19 clinical course improved, their severe insulin resistance improved as well. CONCLUSIONS: The association between critical illness and hyperglycemia is well documented in the literature, however severe insulin resistance is not commonly identified and may represent a unique clinical feature of the interaction between SARS-CoV-2 infection and type 2 diabetes.