Hypoglycemia in patients with COVID-19: an incidental clinical finding or a normal outcome of treatment?

Mankovskyi B.M., Halushko O.A., Protsiuk O.V., Pogorila O.I.

Shupyk National University of Health Care of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine

Abstract. Hypoglycemia is a common complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), which also complicates the course of COVID-19. The purpose of the work is to analyze the available scientific information on the causes and risk factors of hypoglycemia during the treatment of patients with COVID-19.

Materials and methods. A search and analysis of full-text articles was carried out in the PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases. The search was conducted using the key terms: “hypoglycaemia in COVID-19 patients”, “treatment of COVID-19 and hypoglycemia”, “vaccination against COVID-19 and hypoglycemia” from the beginning of the pandemic in December 2019 to July 1, 2022.

The results. The analysis of literary sources showed that hypoglycemia can occur when using drugs from many pharmacotherapeutic groups used for the treatment and vaccination of patients with COVID-19. In addition, patients with DM often have chronic complications that contribute to the occurrence of hypoglycemia in the event of a disease with COVID-19. The lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic has further complicated the problem of hypoglycemia by restricting access to food, clinics, health services and medicines.

Conclusions: Hypoglycemia can be an incidental clinical finding. But it can also be a natural consequence of treatment if it is carried out without taking into account the possible hypoglycemic effects of drugs and without careful monitoring of the patient’s condition. In the case of determining the program of treatment and vaccination against COVID-19 in patients with diabetes mellitus, the known and possible hypoglycemic effects of drugs and vaccines should be taken into account, the level of glycemia should be carefully controlled, sudden changes in the type and dose of drugs, polypharmacy and the use of dangerous combinations of drugs should be avoided.

Key words: COVID-19, hypoglycemia, treatment, vaccination, prevention.

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