Abstract

The potential pathogenic links between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM) as well as increased severity of illness with COVID-19 in the adult diabetic population has been well documented (1). With dearth of pediatric data in India on the links between COVID-19 and new onset DM, our study highlights the characteristics and outcomes of children who presented in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) during the pandemic and compares those who had COVID-19 to those who did not. All children admitted to the PICU in DKA during the COVID-19 pandemic from June 2020 to August 2022 were included. Their clinical data and laboratory investigations and outcomes were analysed using SPSS software. 48 children were included. 7 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR. 32 were newly diagnosed patients, 6 of whom were COVID positive and 16 previously diagnosed with 1 being COVID positive. Mean age group for COVID positive was 11.32 and COVID negative was 9.68. Severity of acidosis was more in the COVID negative group. Statistically significant differences were noted in serum sodium levels, mean pH levels, bicarbonate levels, HbA1c levels, total leucocyte counts between the 2 groups. Mean duration of correction of acidosis was 24.4 hours in COVID positive patients and 28.4 in COVID negative patients. No mortality in either group was noted. The increased incidence of new onset type I DM during the pandemic with several children testing positive for COVID-19 highlights the potential pathogenic link between the two entities.

Description