1 - Pediatrics Department, Hospital de São Francisco Xavier, Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Ocidental EPE, Lisboa, Portugal
2 - Pediatrics Department, Hospital de Torres Novas, Centro Hospitalar do Médio Tejo EPE, Santarem, Portugal
3 - Pediatrics Department, Endocrinology Unit, Hospital Dona Estefânia, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Central, Lisboa, Portugal
- Publicação em versão integral - BMJ Case Rep. 2022 Jan 18;15(1):e247309. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2021-247309.
Delayed diagnosis, low socioeconomic status and infection have been associated with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) at type 1 diabetes mellitus presentation. A teenager from a low socioeconomic status family, with longstanding weight loss, polyphagia, polyuria, vomiting and abdominal pain, attended the emergency department, also complaining of anosmia and odynophagia. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 and new-onset DKA. The second child had 2 weeks of diabetes symptoms and was admitted with new-onset mild DKA. SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test was positive, although asymptomatic. Persistent hyperglycaemia with high insulin requirements was a common feature to both patients. Both cases support that SARS-CoV-2 may have an association with rapidly increasing insulin daily needs. In case one, not only fear of COVID-19 delayed hospital attendance but also the setting of a low socioeconomic status family appears to have enhanced the risk for late diagnosis and challenging disease management.
Palavras Chave: COVID-19, Diabetes Mellitus, Immunology