The Relationship between the Laboratory Biomarkers of SARS-CoV-2 Patients with Type 2 Diabetes at Discharge and the Severity of the Viral Pathology

Abstract

In this study, we evaluated the discharge status of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and SARS-CoV-2 infection, focusing on the inflammatory profile through biomarkers such as procalcitonin, CRP, LDH, fibrinogen, ESR, and ferritin, as well as electrolyte levels and the prior diagnosis of diabetes or its identification at the time of hospitalization. We assessed parameters at discharge for 45 patients admitted to the Clinical Hospital “Gavril Curteanu” Oradea between 21 October 2021, and 31 December 2021, randomly selected, having as the main inclusion criteria the positive RT-PCR rapid antigen test for viral infection and the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. At discharge, patients with type 2 diabetes registered significantly lower mean procalcitonin levels among those who survived compared to those who died from COVID-19. In our study, ferritin and hemoglobin values in individuals with type 2 diabetes were outside the reference range at discharge and correlated with severe or moderate forms of COVID-19 infection. Additionally, elevated ferritin levels at discharge were statistically associated with hypokalemia and elevated levels of ESR at discharge. Another strong statistically significant correlation was identified between high CRP levels at discharge, strongly associated (p < 0.001) with elevated LDH and fibrinogen levels in patients with type 2 diabetes and SARS-CoV-2 viral infection. The increase in CRP was inversely statistically associated with the tendency of serum potassium to decrease at discharge in patients with type 2 diabetes and COVID-19. Identifying type 2 diabetes metabolic pathology at the time of hospitalization for SARS-CoV-2 infection, compared to pre-infection diabetes diagnosis, did not significantly influence the laboratory parameter status at the time of discharge. At the discharge of patients with type 2 diabetes and viral infection with the novel coronavirus, procalcitonin was significantly reduced in those who survived COVID-19 infection, and disease severity was significantly correlated with hyperferritinemia and decreased hemoglobin at discharge. Hyperferritinemia in patients with type 2 diabetes and COVID-19 at discharge was associated with hypokalemia and persistent inflammation (quantified by ESR at discharge). The low number of erythrocytes at discharge is associated with maintaining inflammation at discharge (quantified by the ESR value).