Effectiveness of diabetes education including insulin injection technique and dose adjustment through telemedicine in hospitalized patients with COVID-19

AIMS: To study the feasibility of diabetes education through telemedicine in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) hospitalized for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) management. METHODS: This was a prospective study of 100 patients with DM who were admitted in a COVID isolation ward for management of COVID-19. Patients managed with multiple subcutaneous insulin injections were eligible. During teleconsultation, diabetes education including insulin injection technique was given by a diabetes educator via a phone call (audio and video) during hospitalization. They were also re-assessed after 2 weeks of discharge from the hospital via teleconsultation or in-person. RESULTS: Out of 100 patients, 72.0% had prior history of diabetes while 28.0% were newly diagnosed. The median age of our cohort was 56 years and median duration of diabetes was 7.0 years. Telemedicine as a mode of consult for diabetes education was accepted by 96.0% of patients during hospitalization. At 2 weeks’ follow-up, 77.0% patients were following insulin instructions correctly and were satisfied with this mode of consultation. CONCLUSION: Diabetes education using telemedicine as a technology is feasible, acceptable, and effective in the management of most patients with DM. Telemedicine appears to be an effective way to replace routine visits in special situations.