Comparison between D‐dimer levels in diabetic and non‐diabetic positive COVID‐19 adult patients: A hospital‐based study

Abstract

Abstract Background Diabetes is one of the most common associated comorbidity with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS‐CoV‐2) pneumonia patients. Coagulation disorders with D‐dimer levels are increased in both diseases. This study aimed to compare the levels of D‐dimer in DM and non‐DM patients with coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) and correlate it with the disease severity. Methods This is a cross‐sectional hospital‐based study. It was conducted at royal care hospital, isolation COVID‐19 Centre in 2021. The study included 130 patients with COVID‐19 who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Data were collected through a structured datasheet. The disease was diagnosed by a nasal swab polymerase chain reaction (PCR) Participants were divided into diabetics and non‐diabetics depending on the history from the datasheet. The data were analysed with Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) version 23. Results The study showed that 73.1% of the participants were males and 26.9% were females. The most frequent age group was >65 years. The percentages of diabetics and non‐diabetics, among the study participants, were found to be 41.5% and 58.5%, respectively. Moreover, 52.3% were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). This study revealed that D‐dimer was higher compared with diabetes mellitus. The diabetics were associated with higher levels of D‐dimer compared to non‐diabetics. Regarding the correlation between the level of D‐dimer and severity of COVID‐19, it was found that there is a significant association, as the ICU patients were associated with higher levels of D‐dimer in comparison with non‐ICU patients. Conclusion This study concluded that there is a significant association between the high D‐dimer level and severity of COVID‐19 among diabetic patients.

Keywords

• COVID‐19
• D‐dimer
• diabetes
• ICU
• mortality