Prognostic Value of Hyperglycemia and Insulin Resistance Among Patients with Confirmed COVID-19 Infections at Admission to the Alexandria Fever Hospital, Egypt.

Background: The interaction between COVID-19 infection, hyperglycemia, and insulin resistance (IR) may lead to poor outcome. Methods: This prospective study included 100 adult participants without diabetes attending Alexandria Fever Hospital with confirmed COVID-19 infections. They were classified into four groups according to disease severity using World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Demographic and clinical parameters were collected. Laboratory investigations were obtained. Another follow-up fasting plasma glucose (FPG) value was measured after 3 months in cured patients. Results: Admission FPG, follow-up FPG, lipid profile, markers of IR, and inflammation were significantly higher in severe and critical cases than in mild and moderate cases with increasing values with increased severity. Furthermore, these parameters were significantly higher in died cases compared with cured cases. Admission FPG, TyG index, and homeostatic model assessment (HOMA)-IR showed significant positive correlations with follow-up FPG. Admission FPG was the only independent mortality predictor in multivariate analysis (P = 0.027) with 1.7-folds increased mortality risk with each 10 mg/dL increments. Values exceeding 117 mg/dL, 2.2, and 6.33 for admission FPG, HOMA-IR, and Fasting Insulin Resistance Index, respectively, were able to predict mortality in the studied sample. Conclusions: These results will help in identifying patients at high risk of severe infection and death at admission and take early actions to improve outcome.